


Crazy in Love

by Shadowlord13



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-03-31 07:51:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 28,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13970610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowlord13/pseuds/Shadowlord13
Summary: Gabi Ramirez’s life has been anything but normal, so when the circus comes to Gotham it’s not surprising that things go ary and she meets a certain redhead.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Gabi meets a certain redhead at the visiting circus. Takes place 2 years before the events of Season 1 of Gotham.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabi meets a certain redhead at the visiting circus. Takes place 2 years before the events of Season 1 of Gotham.

 

Gabi trotted down the stairs quickly, stopping at the bottom and making sure that she had her phone and wallet.  As she passed by her adoptive father, she leaned over and kissed him on the head.

“Whose house are you staying at tonight,” he said in his commanding way.

“Samantha’s Dad,” Gabi replied as she grabbed a light jacket from the rack.  “I’ll have Ryan pick me up in the morning.”

“Ok,” he said.

“Love you too,” she said as she sprinted out the door and down the driveway to the car waiting at the curb.  Gabi’s long legs took her to the car quickly. When she got to the car door, she stooped to see in the front passenger window and saw that it was occupied by a red haired girl named Samantha.  Gabi moved to the back door, swinging it open and half stepping, half falling into the backseat beside a raven haired girl.

“Hey Samantha, hey Taylor,” she greeted as she folded her legs up so that they could fit.  “Hello Mr. Jackman.”

“Hello Gabi, how are you doing?” asked Samantha’s father.

“I’m doing good, just excited that I can get out of the house for awhile.”

“I bet you are,” said Taylor.  “Considering you’re surrounded by guys nearly 24/7, some girl time should be nice.”

“Yeah, it’s nice to see the outside world every once in a while,” Gabi said as she nodded in agreement.

The girls continued to chatter as Mr. Jackman drove them through Gotham city to get to their destination.  As they got closer to where they were going, Gabi could see the bright lights of the circus. Haly’s Circus had just arrived in town and the girls had been eager to go on it’s opening night.

Mr. Jackman pulled into a parking spot before he turned to address the girls.

“Alright everyone, I’m going to be back to pick you up at 10 o’clock tonight,” he said as he looked at his watch.  “So you’ve got three hours to enjoy yourselves.”

“Ok Dad, we’ve got it,”  Samantha said as she started to get out of the car.  Gabi and Taylor followed suit and made their way out of the car.

As they made their way past the driver’s door, Mr. Jackman rolled the window down and called out, “Gabi, make sure you keep the girls safe!”

Before Gabi could say anything, Samantha replied for her.

“Don’t worry, she can kick anyone’s ass!”

“Language,” said Mr. Jackman in an annoyed tone.

“Sorry,” Samantha said in a not so convincing tone before she started walking away.

Gabi paused and turned to Mr. Jackman.

“I’ll keep them safe, Mr. Jackman.”

“I know you will, Gabi.”

Gabi nodded before striding off after her friends.  She reached them just as they were getting into the ticket line.  Even though she was only 16 years old, at six feet tall Gabi was easily head and shoulders above everyone ahead of them in line.  Gabi and Taylor talked to pass the time as they waited.

When it was their turn to get their tickets, the boy at the ticket stand caught Gabi’s eye because of his bright red hair.  The boy stared at her as though in a trance until it was broken by Samantha slapping down her money.

“Three tickets,” she said in a demanding tone.

Gabi felt slightly embarrassed of her friend’s behavior as well as sorry for the red headed boy.  As he handed Gabi her ticket, she smiled and said, “Sorry about her, I hope you have a good evening,” before walking off to catch up to Taylor and Samantha.  As Gabi walked away, she didn’t see that the boy watched her all the while until he was pulled back to his job.

Gabi immediately asked Samantha what was up with her when she caught up to her and Taylor.

“What do you mean, I’m fine,” Samantha said in a sharp tone.

“Well, you just seem to be acting differently than usual,” Gabi said.

“I told you I’m fine, God you’re just like my mother,” Samantha snapped.

Gabi glanced at Taylor but she offered no help.

“Sorry.”

As they continued to wander the grounds, Gabi hung back as Taylor and Samantha talked.  Gabi glanced at her watch and found that an hour had already passed and they still hadn’t done anything interesting.

Gabi was lost in thought when out of nowhere, she heard a high pitched squeal come from ahead of her.  Gabi’s guard flew up as she assessed the situation ahead of her. She saw that Samantha was being embraced by a blonde girl.

“Oh my god, what are you doing here!” the blonde screeched in the stereotypical valley girl voice.

_ Lord help me, _ Gabi thought as she flicked her eyes upward.

Samantha and the other girl continued to squeal and screech in greeting.  Taylor and the two other girls that Gabi assumed were with the blonde started screeching as well.  Gabi stayed where she was, any closer and her ears might start to bleed. After the girls had all greeted each other, Gabi was able to get a clear look at the blonde.

_ Oh god, why did it have to be her? _ , she thought as she realized that the blonde just ever so happened to be the most popular girl in her high school, Sophia Jones.  The gaggle of girls started talking all at once.

_ Maybe if I don’t move they won’t notice me _ , Gabi hoped.  Unfortunately in that exact moment, Sophia saw Gabi standing there.

“Well look what the cat dragged in,” Sophia said in that grating pitch.

“Uh, hi, Sophia,” Gabi said as she shifted uneasily.

“Finally escape from that family platoon of yours?”

All of the girls laughed, even Samantha and Taylor, who laughed a little too hard for Gabi’s liking.  Gabi let out a fake laugh as an uneasy feeling started to settle in the pit of her stomach. Sophia turned her attention back to Taylor and Samantha.

“Anyway, we’re going to the mirror maze,” Sophia said. “You coming with?”

“Yeah, totally,” Samantha answered eagerly.  “I was getting bored, anyway.”

Sophia turned on her heel and started to walk away with all of the girls in tow except for Gabi.

“Uh, Samantha, Taylor, I thought we were going to see the main show together?” Gabi called after them.

Samantha stopped and looked over her shoulder at Gabi.

“Why would I want to go to the stupid show with someone like you?”

Gabi couldn’t understand what Samantha had just said.

“I-I thought we were friends?”

“Friends? Ha, you were never my friend.”

With that, Samantha walked over to where Sophia looked on approvingly.  Gabi stood there in shock, feeling like she had just been punched in the gut.  She watched as the clique walked away, leaving her all alone. Suddenly, Gabi felt the need to get away, to run as far as she could.  Her feet started carrying her in the opposite direction of where the girls had gone.

As she walked, numbness started to spread throughout her body as the realization of what had transpired fully hit her.

_ What did I do wrong? Had they been playing me this entire time? God I am so stupid, why did I believe that anyone would like a freak like me? _

Gabi was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice that she had wandered to the part of the grounds where the trailers were kept.  Gabi found a dark spot behind a trailer and sat down in the grass, leaning against the cool metal. Suddenly, Gabi felt tears start to well up in her eyes.  Looking around and seeing no one, Gabi let the tears fall, knowing that nobody would get to see her being weak.

As she cried, Gabi didn’t hear the door of the trailer slam shut.  Gabi was only brought to the present by the feeling of someone tripping over her legs.  She immediately sprung to her feet as she apologized profusely.

“I’m so sorry, here let me help you up,” Gabi said as she stretched her hand out to the young man on the ground in front of her.

“No no, it’s my fault, I wasn’t watching where I was going,” the young man said as he reached out to grab Gabi’s hand.

Gabi easily hauled the boy to his feet and started to brush the front of his sweater off.  She noticed that he was the same height as her and had red hair.

“Wait, you’re the guy that was at the ticket booth,” Gabi blurted out.

“Yeah, I am,” the boy said, smiling.  “Weren’t you with two other girls?”

“Uh, I was,” Gabi said, rubbing the back of her neck.

“Why aren’t you with your friends, then?”

“They, uh...sort of abandoned me for a popular girl.”

The redhead gave a low whistle before saying, “Well, sounds like they were never friends to begin with.”

Gabi shrugged as she wiped her eyes and said, “I guess you’re right.”

“Well, I could be your friend for the night if you want,” the redhead said, smiling.

Gabi snorted, then stuck out her hand.

“Alright, you got a deal, the name’s Gabi Ramirez.”

“Nice to meet you, Gabi, I’m Jerome Valeska,” the redhead said, his smile growing even bigger as he shook her hand.

Once they let go of each other’s hands, Jerome started to walk towards the lights of the circus.

“Hey wait, where are you going?” Gabi called.

“To have some fun,” he called back over his shoulder.

Gabi sighed and shook her head before jogging after Jerome.  She caught up to him as he sauntered along.

“So, you want to get some lemonade and bitch about your supposed friends?” Jerome asked.

“Honestly, that sounds amazing at the moment.”

Gabi and Jerome walked next to each other as they made their way towards a lemonade stand.

“Hey, Bob, can I get one lemonade for the lady?” Jerome said as he greeted the man behind the stand.

“Hey, Jerome, finally got yourself a girl, I see,” the man said in a gruff voice.

“Nah, finally got myself a friend,” Jerome joked, resting his arm on Gabi’s shoulder.

“Sure, Jerome,” Bob said as he handed the lemonade over to Gabi.

“How much is it?” Gabi asked, lifting the cup of lemonade.

“Ah, it’s on the house just this once,” Bob said, winking at Jerome.

Gabi glanced at Jerome quickly and saw that his cheeks had a slight blush to them.

“Thank you,” Gabi and Jerome said in unison.

They looked at each other quickly before smiling.

“Come on, let’s beat this popsicle stand,” Gabi said jokingly.

Jerome smiled at Gabi as he removed his arm from her shoulder and led her off in a random direction.

“Well, now that you have a lemonade in hand, how about we get to the part where you bitch about your former friends?”

Gabi took a sip of her lemonade trying to think of where to start.  When she gathered her thoughts, Gabi launched into the story as Jerome listened intently.  It felt good to Gabi to get her feelings off her chest when she was finished telling the tale.

“Damn, that sounds awful,” Jerome said when Gabi was done.

“Yeah, I genuinely thought that they cared about me.”

“Hey, freakshow!” a shrill voice called out.

Gabi and Jerome’s heads snapped in the direction of the voice.

“Shit,” Gabi said under her breath when she saw that it was Sophia and her gang in front of them.

“That them?” Jerome whispered in Gabi’s ear.  Gabi nodded.

Sophia waltzed toward them with an exaggerated sway in her hips.

“Hey there, cutie,” Sophia said, directed towards Jerome.  “How did someone as weird as Paula Bunion here catch you?”

“Well, I certainly did fall for her,” Jerome said, wrapping an arm around Gabi’s shoulders and pulling her in close.

Gabi could feel her heart beat faster as she let herself relax against him.

_ Damn, he smells good _ , Gabi thought.

Sophia looked very confused as Gabi stared at her with a smile slowly growing across her face.

“Hmph, well you two deserve each other,” Sophia said.  She quickly snatched the lemonade away from Gabi.

“Oh and Gabi, you look a little parched.”

Sophia then tossed the contents of the cup all over the front of Gabi’s shirt.  Gabi let out a startled yelp as the liquid soaked her shirt.

“You bitch!” 

The smile on Sophia's face quickly disappeared as she backed away from the pair.  She rushed away from them and back to the safety of her group.

Gabi realized that both she and Jerome had yelled at Sophia, but that didn’t matter at the moment.  Gabi just wanted to disappear because everyone in the vicinity was staring at her. She looked around, saw an opening and darted for it.  Gabi thought that she heard Jerome yelling after her, but she was already too far away to hear exactly what he said.

Gabi ran until she was at the very edge of the fair grounds and an open field.  She stopped to get her breath and let the cool air wrap itself around her. Gabi felt a hand on her shoulder and instantly, her training took over.  She gripped the person’s wrist and arm, flipping them forward, over her shoulder and placing them in an armlock. 

“Hey, hey, take it easy, it’s me, Jerome.”

“Jerome? Oh my god, I’m sorry,” Gabi said as she released Jerome’s arm from her grip.

Gabi backed away slowly as Jerome picked himself up.

“Are you ok?” Jerome asked as he cautiously approached her.

“No, I’m not ok, I feel like the world is crashing down around me.”

“Come here,” Jerome said as he pulled Gabi into a hug.  At first Gabi tensed up, considering she wasn’t one for hugs.  When Jerome didn’t let go of her, Gabi felt almost comfortable being wrapped in Jerome’s embrace.  She allowed herself to relax into his body. After a while, Jerome let Gabi go, but held onto her shoulders at arm’s length.

“Let’s go get you a clean shirt,” Jerome said as he grabbed Gabi’s hand.

She let herself be led by Jerome all the way to the door of a trailer.  Gabi stopped, her common sense kicking in. Jerome turned back to see why Gabi wasn’t following him.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“Jerome, can I trust you?” Gabi asked, looking him in the eye.

Jerome’s eyes softened a bit before he nodded and said, “Gabi, I promise, you can trust me.”

“Ok, I trust you.”

Jerome smiled and opened the door to the trailer, leading Gabi inside.

“Welcome to my humble home.”

“Uh, Jerome,” Gabi said glancing, down at where Jerome still held her hand.

“Oh, sorry,” said Jerome as he quickly released Gabi’s hand.  “Anyway, let’s get you that shirt.”

Jerome made his way through the trailer as Gabi followed him.  He led her into a small backroom that Gabi assumed to be his bedroom.  Jerome rummaged around in a basket and pulled out a T-shirt.

“Here you go,” he said as he handed Gabi the shirt.

Gabi took the shirt and laid it on the bed, she moved so that her back was to Jerome.  Gabi quickly took off her jacket and soaked shirt. As she pulled her long, curly hair out from under the new shirt, Jerome could see scars covering the entirety of Gabi’s back.  He stood there transfixed, following the scars along her muscular back and shoulders. When Gabi was done pulling the clean shirt on, she turned to face Jerome. She saw that he had a slight blush to his cheeks.  It then dawned on her how awkward it probably was for him to have a random girl he had just met take her shirt off in front of him.

“Sorry, I’m way too used to being surrounded by my brothers,” Gabi said, her eyes widening.

“I-uh.”

“Shit,” Gabi said looking at her watch.  It was already 11 o’clock. there was no way anyone would be awake to pick her up.

“What’s the matter?”

“Well, seeing as the friend whose house I was going to stay at abandoned me, I don’t have anywhere to stay for tonight.”

“You could crash here,” Jerome said hesitantly.

“You sure?”

“Yeah, my mom shouldn’t be back until the morning and even if she gets home early, I can always sleep on the floor.”

Gabi thought for a bit, weighing her options.

“Alright,” she said.

“Great,” Jerome said, smiling, “make yourself at home.”

Jerome left the room as Gabi sat on the edge of the bed to take her combat boots off.

_ What have I gotten myself into? _

Jerome came back into the room carrying a pillow and blanket.  He went about setting up his sleeping spot next to the bed.

“Are you going to be warm enough with just that one blanket?” Gabi asked.

“I’ll be fine,” Jerome answered from the floor.

Gabi got settled into bed and turned off the light.

“Goodnight, Gabi.”

“Night, Jerome.”

In the morning, Jerome and Gabi were sleeping peacefully.  However, the silence was broken by a woman yelling.

“Jerome, where the hell are you!!”

Jerome groaned and moved his head closer to the sweet scent that had drifted throughout his dreams.

_ Hmm, it must be a new detergent that smells so nice _ , he thought.

Jerome also felt warmer than he usually did in the mornings during this time of year.  He nestled further under the covers enjoying the last few minutes of peace.

“Jerome, get your lazy ass out of bed!!”

“Alright, mom, I’m coming!”

Jerome heard a soft groan next to him.  He opened his eyes and saw a soft brown in front of him.

_ What the hell? _ , he thought to himself as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Just then, he realized that it must be a person sleeping next to him.  In that moment, the person rolled over to face him. She had a beautiful heart shaped face that looked so peaceful with sleep.  Jerome could tell that they were both fully clothed thankfully. The quiet was broken by a woman barging through the door.

Gabi had been asleep when she heard a commotion.  Her eyes snapped open as she sat up in bed. There was a woman standing in the doorway.

“Well, well, well, looks like you scored yourself a whore, afterall,” was all she said as she turned around and walked away.

“What the hell?” said Gabi out loud.

“Sorry, that was my mom, Lila.”

“Well, that was certainly a rude awakening.”

“Unfortunately, she’s done worse to wake me up before,” Jerome said dryly.

It was only then that Gabi looked to her left and saw Jerome propped up on his elbow right next to her in the bed.

“Well, this is awkward,” Gabi said.

“What?...Oh, sorry,” Jerome said suddenly, “I must have gotten up during the night and forgot that you were here.”

“This would be really super embarrassing for me if I wasn’t used to sharing a bed with my brother at one point.”

“Jerome, is your whore staying for breakfast!!” Lila shouted.

“I am so sorry for her, she’s probably still drunk from last night,” Jerome apologized.

Gabi shrugged as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed to put her boots on.

“Can you give me a few minutes to call my brother to see if he can pick me up?”

“Sure, I’ll get started on breakfast.” 

Jerome left, closing the door behind him.  As Gabi grabbed her phone, she could hear raised voices coming from outside the door.  Gabi quickly found her older brother’s name in her contact list and called him. After a few rings, Ryan picked up.

“Hey, I was just about to come get you,” he said.

“Are you within earshot of Dad?” Gabi asked quickly.

“No, why?” Ryan asked, suspicion in his voice.

“Well, things happened last night and I ended up staying at the circus.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean, Gabi?”

“I’ll explain it when you get to the circus grounds.”

“Let me guess, you want this to be kept a secret?”

“Yes, please,” Gabi said, “ You’re the best brother ever if you do.”

“Yeah, yeah, tell me that when I get there.”

“Alright, see ya soon.”

Gabi hung up and placed the phone in her pocket.  She made her way out of the bedroom and into the main part of the trailer.  Jerome was leaning against the counter eating a piece of toast. He noticed Gabi and said, “She’s gone.”

Gabi breathed a sigh of relief as she walked closer to Jerome.  Without missing a beat, he handed her a plate of scrambled eggs.

“Thank you.”

“Eh, anytime, plus you’re a guest.”

Since there was no obvious place to sit, Gabi decided to lean against the counter next to Jerome.

“Mmm, these eggs are really good, Jerome.”

“I’m glad you like them,” Jerome said, smiling at her.

Gabi saw that he had some crumbs on his face and, without thinking, brushed them off.

“Uh, thanks,” Jerome said, looking away.

When they were done eating, Jerome handed Gabi a plastic bag.

“Your shirt from last night is in here.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“When is your brother supposed to get here?” Jerome asked.

Before Gabi could answer, her phone started to ring.

“Well, that must be him,” she said as she took her phone out of her pocket.

“Are you here?” Gabi asked Ryan.

“Yup, now get your ass over here cause I’m not waiting all day.”

“Alright, don’t get your panties in a twist.”

Gabi hung up and looked at Jerome.

“He’s here.”

“Well, by the sound of it, we better hurry.”

Jerome and Gabi exited the trailer and started to make their way towards the parking lot.  It was so strange to think of just how busy and crowded this place was last night compared to the quiet that now enveloped the circus grounds.  Walking side-by-side, the pair made good time crossing the grounds. When they reached the parking lot, it was empty except for a black Mustang that had a young man leaning against the hood.  As they got closer, Jerome could see that the man was at least 6’4” with a very muscular build. He had short blonde hair that was in a crew cut. When the man saw them get closer he stood up and was easily five inches taller than them.

“There you are,” the man said in a deep voice, “it took you long enough.”

“Whatever, I’m here, aren’t I?” Gabi said playfully.

_ That must be Ryan, then, _ Jerome thought.

“Who’s he?”

“Ryan, this is Jerome, he’s the one I stayed with last night.”

Ryan’s jaw tightened as he made his way over to Jerome.

“You better not have touched her in a wrong way,” Ryan growled.

The look on Jerome’s face was one of sheer terror.  Gabi immediately put herself between Ryan and Jerome.

“Ryan, he’s my friend,” Gabi said quickly, “and if you lay a finger on him, I’ll break your arm.”

_ Considering what she did last night, I wouldn’t doubt that she could do it, _ Jerome thought.

Ryan narrowed his eyes and slightly relaxed.

“Fine, if he’s under your protection, then I guess there’s no point in trying to go after him,” Ryan said finally.  “Let’s go before Dad gets suspicious.”

Ryan turned and headed back to the car.  Gabi turned to Jerome.

“Thank you so much for everything that you’ve done, what can I do to repay you?” she asked.

Jerome thought for a moment before replying.

“You could visit me whenever you can for the month or so.”

“You’ve got yourself a deal.”

“Shake on it?” Jerome asked, sticking his hand out.

Gabi took his hand and shook it before pulling him into a hug.  Jerome was taken aback by the action but accepted the hug. Gabi let him go before running off to the car.  Jerome was left standing there as he watched them pull away.

Ryan and Gabi were barely five minutes into the drive when he started interrogating her.

“Spill it.”

Gabi sighed, then launched into the whole story, conveniently leaving out the part where she and Jerome had woken up in the same bed.  Ryan listened intently to the story as he drove through Gotham. When Gabi finished the story, Ryan asked, “So, what’s your cover story going to be?”

“Well, I’ll just say that I went over to Samantha’s house last night and this morning, we had a fight and they’re not my friends any more,” Gabi started, “You picked me up at her house like you planned to.”

“Ok, as long as you can keep your story straight, you should be good.”  

Ryan drove on in silence as Gabi stared out at the passing city.  The silence was broken by Ryan after a while.

“You hugged him.”

“Yeah, so what?”

“You hardly ever let anyone hug you, let alone initiate a hug.”

Gabi sighed.

“I-I don’t know...I just feel like I’ve known him my entire life and feel really comfortable around him.”

“Ok, I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I know, and trust me, I’ll never let anyone hurt me again.”

When they reached the house, Ryan parked and they got out, making their way to the front door.

“We’re home!” Gabi called when they got in the door.

Gabi found a note on the kitchen table that read: Gabi/Ryan we’re out on a run you get the day off this once ~ Dad

“Well, that explains where everyone is,” Gabi said, handing the note to Ryan.

He read it quickly, then crumpled the note up and threw it away.

“You’re lucky, he never lets us escape Saturday training,” Ryan said.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Gabi dropped her ruined shirt in the laundry and made her way up to her room on the second floor.

_ I better get started on homework, _ she thought.

As the week passed by, Gabi couldn’t help but continue to think about Jerome and what his life must be like, constantly on the move.  Even when she was training, Gabi would sometimes think of how lonely he must be.

When Friday rolled around, Gabi found herself asking Ryan to take her to the circus.

“Why do you want to go to the circus again?” he asked.

“Because at this rate, Jerome is my only friend and I’m his.”

“What are ya going to tell Dad?”

“The truth,” Gabi said, “I’m going to see a friend at the circus.”

“You really sure that Dad will let you go out two weeks in a row?”

“Well, it’s not like I’m staying over at someone’s house this time.”

“Good point, but what am I going to do while you hang out with Jerome?”

“You could take your girlfriend out on a date or something at the circus.”

Ryan thought for a few moments then answered.

“I could do that, I’ll text Miranda right now.”

“Awesome!!”

A few hours later, Gabi found herself at the circus, looking for Jerome.  Ryan had taken her and his girlfriend, Miranda, to the circus. After wandering around for a while, Gabi finally found Jerome taking care of a large python.  She waited until it was safe for Jerome, then snuck up behind him.

“BOO!” Gabi shouted as she poked Jerome in the sides.  Jerome yelled as he jumped away. Gabi laughed as he spun around to face her.

“What the hell, man?” Jerome said, exasperated.

“I saw an opportunity and couldn’t help but take it,” Gabi said still laughing.

Jerome smiled as he said, “ Well, at least it’s nice to hear you laugh, and I can’t believe you came back.”

“Of course I came back, I told you I would," Gabi said, smiling as well.  “Anyway, what cha’ doing?”

“Oh, I was just taking care of my mom’s snake.”

“Why does she have a snake?  Is it a part of her act?”

“Yeah, she is, my mom is a snake charmer/dancer.”

“Cool, do you have any time to hang out with me?”

“Umm,” Jerome said, rubbing the back of his neck, “I actually have to move some stuff, unfortunately.”

“I could help, it would make the work go faster.”

“Oh, no, I couldn’t have you do that, its my work to do,” Jerome said quickly.

Gabi faked an offended look, putting her hand on her heart.  She then crossed her arms over her chest.

“Fine, I’ll just follow you around while you do your work.”

Jerome let out a chuckle.

“Alright, dollface, if that’s what you want to do.”

Jerome turned and started to walk away.  Gabi caught up to him as he walked through the grounds.

“So, what’s the first thing you have to do?” Gabi asked.

“Well, I have to move some bales of hay,” Jerome said as they reached a makeshift stable.

Jerome started to lift a bale of hay by the baling strings.  Gabi stood off to the side so that she wasn’t in the way.

“You’re doing it wrong,” Gabi said out of the blue.

Jerome put the hay bale down so he could turn to Gabi.

“What am I doing wrong?”

“You’re lifting with your back, not your legs,” she said, “here, let me show you the right way.”

Gabi walked over and easily lifted the bale of hay.  Jerome stared in wonder as Gabi stood there, holding the hay bale.

“Where do you want this, since I’m at it?” Gabi asked.

“Oh, um, I’ll show you,” Jerome said as he picked up a different bale of hay.

Jerome copied the way that Gabi was holding the bale and started to walk into the stable.  Gabi followed him with her own bale. They placed the bales down near the other end of the stable.

“Do the other bales need to go here as well?”

“Yeah, they do.”

Gabi walked back to where the other bales were.  She grabbed another and carried it past Jerome, who was just standing there.

“What are you doing, Gabi?”

“Apparently, your work for you,” Gabi said sarcastically, “now are you just going to stand there, or are you going to do something?”

Jerome shook his head before walking over to pick up another bale.  They went back and forth carrying the hay bales to where they needed to be.  When they were done, Gabi and Jerome brushed pieces of hay off of themselves.

“Do you have anything else to do?” Gabi asked.

“Nope, I’m free for the rest of the night.”

“Awesome, let’s get started.”

Gabi and Jerome walked towards the main part of the circus.  They wandered through the crowds all while asking questions about the other’s life.  Gabi learned that Jerome’s father had been a sea captain, who died while out at sea. Jerome learned that Gabi had been adopted by her family at the age of seven and had the older brother, Ryan; a brother that was the same age as her, Zak; and 2 younger brothers named Sam and Adam.

“Wow, that’s a lot of siblings,” Jerome remarked, “and no sisters?”

“Nope, the only other female in the family is my adoptive mom.”

“How do you guys not tear each other apart?”

“Oh, trust me, any grievances we have with each other get taken out in training.”

“Training?”

“Yeah, ok, so let me give you a quick run down.”

Gabi proceeded to explain how her adoptive father had been a drill sergeant in the Marines and that he decided that his family should know how to protect themselves from anything.  He had started to train his biological children from a young age and, when the family adopted her, Gabi was trained as well.

“Huh, so that would explain how you were able to easily flip me over your shoulder that one time,” Jerome said.

They continued to walk around and talk.

“Oh, I nearly forgot, I have the shirt that you gave me last time,” Gabi said as she dug in her bag.

When she found it, Gabi handed the shirt over to Jerome.  He took it carefully, looking at it in a way that seemed as though he didn’t recognize it.

“Right, I fully expected you to keep it,” Jerome said after a minute.

“Well, if you don’t want it back,” Gabi said as she reached out her hand, “I’ll keep it.”

“I never said that I didn’t want it back,” Jerome said playfully as he clutched the shirt close to him.

“Alright, then,” Gabi said, lowering her arm.

“Well, I should put this in the trailer.”

Jerome and Gabi made their way to Jerome’s trailer and went inside.  Jerome dropped the shirt on his bed. He was about to ask Gabi something when her phone rang.  Gabi looked at the screen and saw that it was Ryan calling, so she answered quickly.

“Where are you?” Ryan asked.

“I’m with Jerome.”

“I guessed that, dummy, I meant it’s time to go and you aren’t here at the car.”

“Sorry, I lost track of time, I’ll be right there.”

“You better be or someone’s getting an asskicking.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know you’re just a big teddy bear at heart.”

“Whatever, just get over here,” Ryan grumbled before hanging up.

Jerome raised an eyebrow when Gabi turned to him.  Gabi sighed as she spoke, “Well looks like I’ve got to go.”

“Awww, so soon?” Jerome asked just as a child would.

“Yes, unfortunately.”

“Well, then I’ll walk you out.”

Jerome and Gabi headed out of the trailer and started to walk towards the parking lot.

“Are you coming back next week?” Jerome asked.

“Yeah, more than likely I will.”

“Great!” Jerome said excitedly, “It’s really nice to have someone to talk to that’s normal.”

“Ha, normal? I’m anything but normal.”

“Gabi, I was born and raised in the circus and will probably stay in the circus, so by comparison you have a much more normal life than I do.”

“Alright, if that’s what you want to believe, Jerome,” Gabi said with a laugh.

They continued to talk as they made their way to the parking lot.

“But seriously, your family sounds so structured...in a good way,” Jerome said as they got within earshot of Ryan and Miranda.

“Sounds like you two are having a good conversation,” said Miranda.

“Oh, hey, Miranda,” Gabi said when they got closer to the couple.  “This is my friend Jerome, and Jerome, this is Ryan’s girlfriend, Miranda.”

“Nice to meet you,” Jerome said, raising his hand to wave at Miranda.

“Say your goodbyes cause we’ve got to go,” Ryan said impatiently.

“Ok, geez,” Gabi said as she turned towards Jerome.

“I’ll see you next time then?”

“Yup, I’ll be here,” said Jerome with a smile.

Gabi gave him a quick hug before she jumped in the car with Ryan and Miranda.  Jerome waved to her as the car pulled away.

As Ryan drove away, Miranda turned to Gabi with a sly smile on her face.

“So, just friends, huh?” she said.

“Yes, we’re just friends.”

“Sure, you are now but I saw that hug.”

“So? What, I can’t hug people now?” Gabi said somewhat defensively.

“No, it’s just that you hardly ever hug anyone.”

“Oh god,” Gabi said with a roll of her eyes, “Ok, you’ve got me. I like him more than I like other people.”

Miranda turned to Ryan and said, “My dear Ryan, it looks like your little sister is in love.”

Gabi’s cheeks all of a sudden felt like they were on fire.

“Woah, woah, wait a second, I never said that!”

“Your words didn’t but your eyes did.”

Gabi sat there in stunned silence.  Miranda turned to face the front. The rest of the car ride was silent as Ryan first dropped off Miranda then drove home.

The next week passed by slowly for Gabi.  Get up, go to school, come home, do homework, train, rinse and repeat.  One night during dinner, Gabi asked if her mom and dad would want to take Sam and Adam to the circus.

“Why?” asked her father, Daniel.

“Because I want to go to the circus to see a friend and I was thinking that the boys might want to go,” Gabi said shyly.

Daniel glanced at his wife, Fiona, before speaking.

“Gabi, I’m concerned with you going to the circus all the time.”

“Why would you be concerned about that?  I’ve kept up on my grades and training.”

“I’m concerned that you’re getting...distracted, Gabi.”

“Distracted? Distracted by what?”

Daniel looked at Fiona for help.

“Honey, what your father means is are you seeing someone that you haven’t told us about?” asked Fiona in a soft voice.

“Seeing someone?  You mean like dating?”

Fiona nodded.

Gabi felt her cheeks instantly light up.

“Oh no no no, I’m not dating anyone, I go to the circus to see a friend...who just so happens to be apart of the circus.”

The table fell silent as Gabi’s words sunk in.  The first one to speak was Zak.

“So your friend works in the circus...what is he, a clown?” he said slowly.

Gabi rolled her eyes before she spoke.

“No Zak, he isn’t a clown, he just does stuff behind the scenes cause his mom is a snake dancer.”

“Does he have a name?” asked Fiona.

“His name is Jerome, Jerome Valeska.”

“Do you have any interest in this boy?” asked Daniel gruffly.

“Dad! We’re only friends...he doesn’t have any friends outside of the circus besides me,” Gabi said slowly.

“Gabi, I admire what you’re doing for this boy but what about your other friends like Samantha and Taylor?” inquired Fiona.

“Um, well, about that,” Gabi said hesitantly, looking at her plate.

“What happened,” demanded Daniel.

Gabi sighed before she launched into the story of how Samantha and Taylor had abandoned her for Sophia and how she had become friends with Jerome.  Her family listened to what she had to say while asking the occasional question.

“So yeah, I’m Jerome’s only friend and he’s mine,” Gabi concluded.

The silence that followed was beyond deafening, even the two youngest were quiet.  Daniel and Fiona looked at each other for a moment. Fiona gave a slight nod to him.  Daniel gave a slight sigh then spoke.

“Ok Gabi, we’ll take you and the boys to the circus so that you can see your friend.”

“Oh thank you so much, Dad!!”

Gabi jumped up from the table and hugged her father.

The next night, Daniel, Fiona, Sam, Adam, and Gabi all piled into the family car and drove to the circus.  When they got there, Sam, eight, and Adam, five, were bouncing around like Gabi had never seen before.

“Wow, and they haven’t even eaten any cotton candy yet,” Gabi remarked.

“This is going to be a long night,” Daniel mumbled as he handed Gabi some money when they got past the ticket counter.

“Thank you, Dad.”

“Make sure you come back to the car by 11 o’clock,” he said sternly.

“I will, don’t worry.”

“Alright, you’re free to go.”

With that, Gabi raced off to find Jerome.  The first place she checked was his trailer with no success.  Next she tried the makeshift stable but he wasn’t there either.

_ Where the hell could he be? _ , Gabi thought as she wandered around the circus grounds.

As Gabi walked, an announcement was heard over the loudspeaker system.

“Would a Miss Gabi Ramirez please report to the ticket booth, I repeat will a Miss Gabi Ramirez please report to the ticket booth.”

_ I guess that must be meant for me. _

Gabi quickly made her way to the ticket booth expecting to find that either Sam or Adam had somehow managed to escape the eagle eyes of their parents, resulting in them getting lost.  It would make sense for one of the boys to be able to remember her name slightly better than their parents’ full names. When Gabi reached the ticket booth, she saw a man standing there counting money.

“Excuse me, I’m Gabi Ramirez, there was an announcement for me to come here,” she said as she stood at the counter.

The man briefly looked up at her before calling out “She’s here” then returning to counting the money.  Gabi stood there in confusion and was about to ask the man a question when she sensed that someone was coming up behind her.  She quickly turned around and found herself face-to-face with a surprised Jerome.

“Damn, I thought I had a good chance of sneaking up on you, dollface.”

“Really, Jerome?”

“What?  I seriously thought I had a chance.”

“Not that, dummy,” Gabi said as she punched Jerome in the arm, “I meant did you really have to call my name over the loudspeaker?”

“Ow, that hurt,” Jerome said rubbing his arm, “and how else was I supposed to find you?”

“Good point, we really need to figure out a meeting spot.”

“We could always meet here at the ticket booth,” Jerome suggested.

“That would work since it’s a singular place and everyone has to pass by it, plus it’s not like the ticket booth is going to be moved to a different place from one visit to Gotham to another.”

“Yeah...sure,” Jerome said slowly.

“I started strategically analysing the ticket booth, didn’t I?”

Jerome simply nodded.

“Sorry, that’s one of the lessons Dad ingrained into us,” Gabi said apologetically.

“Riiight, anyway, want to walk and talk?”

“Sure.”

“After you, then,” Jerome said as he swept his arm out and bowed.

“Oh, such a gentleman,” Gabi said as she started to walk past him.

Jerome and Gabi talked about how their week had gone.  As they walked, Gabi spotted the towering figure of her dad at the Strongman game.  Daniel’s back was to them thankfully, so there was no way of him seeing her and Jerome together.

“Hey, see that really tall guy over there,” Gabi said to Jerome.

“Yeah, the one about to win the Strongman game?” 

“Yup, that’s my adoptive dad.”

“Oh shit, no wonder your older brother is so tall,” Jerome said, “He’s got to be at least 6’5”, right?”

“6 foot 6 to be exact.”

“Hey, let’s go say hi to your folks.”

Jerome grabbed Gabi’s hand and started to pull her towards Daniel and Fiona.

“Wait, what?  No!” Gabi exclaimed as she dug in her heels.

Jerome stopped and turned back to Gabi.

“Why not?”

“He’s got a thing against pale, gingers,” Gabi blurted out.

Jerome’s face went from confusion to glee as a huge smile spread across his face.  He burst out in laughter to the point he was doubled over. Jerome’s laugh was so infectious that Gabi couldn’t help joining him.  As Jerome gasped for air, he was able to say, “Oh man...that, that’s a good one, Gabi.” Jerome was eventually able to get control of himself after awhile.

“Oh god, I never expected that out of you dollface,” Jerome said as he wiped away tears.

“I have my moments,” Gabi said through chuckles.

Once the pair was able to compose themselves, they made their way into the big top to watch the show. 

Throughout the performance, Jerome told Gabi about the people in the acts.  Such as how long they had been in the circus, who they liked and didn’t like, and other insider knowledge.  After the show had ended Jerome and Gabi wandered outside.

“I want to give you a gift, Gabi,” Jerome said out of the blue.

“A gift?  For what?”

“For being my friend when you could have easily never come back.”

“Ok, where is this gift?”

“It’s back in my trailer.”

“Alright,” Gabi said suspiciously as she followed Jerome.

When they reached the trailer, Jerome led Gabi inside.

“Ok now you have to close your eyes, Gabi.”

“Why?”

“So that you can be surprised, silly, don’t worry I’ll guide you to where you need to go.”

“Ok, I trust you Jerome,” Gabi said as she closed her eyes.

Gabi felt Jerome slide past her and move behind her.  Suddenly she felt hands cover her eyes. Gabi’s instinct was to reach up and grab Jerome’s wrists.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Making sure you don’t peak,” Jerome said into her ear.

Gabi felt a shiver run down her spine at how close Jerome was to her, she also noticed how warm his hands were.

“Go on, I’ve got you,” Jerome said.

Gabi took a hesitant step forward after she released Jerome’s wrists.  As Gabi took small, careful steps, Jerome stayed pressed against her back and reassuring her that she was going to be alright.  When she had made it far enough, Jerome told Gabi to stop and turned her around. He helped her to sit on the edge of his bed.

“Alright, now make sure you don’t open your eyes until I tell you to.”

“Ok.”

Gabi heard Jerome move off and rustle through something but she couldn’t tell what.  She felt Jerome set something on her lap. Gabi ran her hands over the gift and could feel that it was wrapped in gift wrap.

“Ok, open your present.”

“Can I open my eyes now, Jerome?”

“Nope, you have to keep your eyes closed while you open it,” Jerome said as he sat next to Gabi on the bed.

“Alright, I’ll play your game.”

Gabi carefully ripped the wrapping paper off.  She could feel that it was a soft material, the kind of soft that comes from a well worn shirt.  Gabi unfolded the material and found that it was in the shape of a shirt.

“You can open your eyes now.”

Gabi opened her eyes to see a plain shirt sitting on her lap.

“It’s a shirt,” she said.

“It’s not just any old shirt, it’s the shirt that I gave you on the night we met,” Jerome said excitedly.

When Jerome said that, Gabi did start to recognize the shirt.

“Oh Jerome, I can’t accept this.”

“Yes you can, when you gave it back to me, you said that if I didn’t want it you would take it, and I don’t want it anymore.”

Gabi looked at Jerome and saw a smile on his face.

“Plus I want you to have something to remember me by,” he said shyly.

“Jerome, I’ll always remember you because of our experiences together,” Gabi said as she laid a hand on Jerome’s shoulder.

The sweet moment was broken by the slamming of the trailer door.  Both Jerome and Gabi looked in the direction of the sound and saw Lila storming towards them.

“Jerome why wasn’t my snake taken care of!!”

Jerome jumped up and walked towards his mother.

“I’m sorry Mom, I must have forgot,” he said.

“I don’t care if you ‘forgot’,” Lila shouted.

When Gabi stood up, it caused Lila to spy her.  Lila looked back at Jerome and narrowed her eyes.

“Oh I see how it is,” Lila said coldly, “you were too busy fucking your whore to take care of your responsibilities.”

“Mom she’s my friend and I don’t appreciate you calling her a whore,” Jerome said in a low voice.

The sound of Lila’s hand hitting Jerome’s face cracked through the air of the tiny trailer.

“Don’t you ever talk back to me like that again or I’ll get one of my guys to teach you a lesson in respect.”

Lila stormed out of the trailer as Jerome and Gabi stood there in stunned silence.

“Jerome are you ok?” Gabi asked as she rushed to him.

Jerome stood there looking at the ground with a hand on his cheek.

“I’m ok, it’s not the worst that she’s done to me,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Jerome, does your mom hit you all the time?”

Jerome nodded and said, “Her and all of the guys she fucks.”

“Come here,” Gabi said as she guided Jerome back to the bed and sat him down.

“I am so sorry that you have to go through that and I know how you feel.”

“How could you know how it feels to have the one you love and care about turn around and abuse you and you can’t do anything about it,” Jerome snapped.

Gabi’s eyes softened as she gazed into Jerome’s eyes.

“Jerome the reason I was adopted by my current family was because I was taken away from my abusive biological parents.”

“Really?”

“Yes, and I have the scars to prove it,” Gabi said softly.

Gabi turned so that her back was to Jerome.  She slowly lifted up her shirt so that the entirety of her back was exposed.  Jerome lifted his hand and tentatively touched Gabi’s skin, tracing the scars with his fingers.  All the while, Gabi told Jerome about how her biological father had been an alcoholic and her mother was a drug addict.  Her biological father would always come home drunk and would beat her so badly with whatever was at hand that he left all of the scars on her back.  When Child Protective Services finally took her away from them she was six and a half years old.

“I-I never would have guessed,” Jerome said.

“No one ever does,” Gabi said as she pulled her shirt down and turned back to Jerome. 

“I have a few small scars but usually they only leave bruises on me,” Jerome said.

“Jerome, I want to help you,” Gabi said after a few minutes of silence.

Before Gabi could say anymore her phone began to ring.

“Oh man, don’t tell me I’m late again,” she said as she saw that it was Daniel calling her.

“Hello?...Oh hi Dad...yes I’ll be there,” Gabi said quickly before hanging up.

“Go, I don’t want you getting in trouble because of me, Gabi.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’ll be ok.”

Jerome walked Gabi out of his trailer.

“I’ll see you next time, Gabi,” he said with a weary smile before closing the trailer door.

Gabi was left standing there, staring at the door while holding Jerome’s shirt.  She made her way to the car in a haze.

For the next week, Gabi couldn’t stop thinking of different ways to try and help Jerome out of his situation.  To make matters worse, it was said in the newspaper that this would be the last weekend that Haly’s Circus would be in Gotham.  As luck would have it though, Gabi’s “twin,” Zak, and his friends were going to the circus to blow off some steam, so she caught a ride with them.

When the group reached the circus, Gabi hung back at the ticket booth in hopes that Jerome would show up.  Gabi waited there; first it was half an hour, then an hour. After close to two hours of helplessly waiting, Gabi had given up hope of seeing the redhead.

_ I better cut my losses and at least try to have some fun _ , she thought as she began to look for her brother and his friends.

Gabi found them at a bottle game.  The objective was to throw a baseball at a tower of glass bottles and knock all of them down within three pitches.  Zak’s best friend, Bryan, was up trying to knock the bottles down, which Gabi highly doubted that his skinny arms would be able to do.  When Zak noticed Gabi standing there he asked her, “Hey you alright?”

Gabi shrugged and simply said, “I’m fine.”

Zak easily saw through her act.  He nudged his other friend Kevin and said something to him while looking in the direction of Gabi.

While all this was going on, Bryan was arguing with the stout man running the game.

“This game is so rigged!” Bryan yelled.

“Bryan, stop making a fool of yourself,” said Kevin as he laid a hand on Bryan’s shoulder.  “Let me show you how it’s done.”

The man behind the counter smiled as Kevin slapped down the needed five dollars.  Unbeknownst to him, Kevin was able to throw the fastest fast ball on the high school’s baseball team.  With the first throw, Kevin was able to knock all five of the glass bottles down with ease. The man’s face fell as this was the first person all night to win the game let alone do it on their first try.  The prize was a teddy bear holding a baseball. The stout man handed the prize over to Kevin, who promptly turned to Gabi and presented it to her.

“Kevin, you don’t have to give me your prize,” Gabi said quickly.

“Oh come on Gabi, the little guy only wants you to be happy,” Kevin said.

He held the teddy bear up in front of his face and in a ridiculas voice said, “ Mr. Teddy only wants Gabi to be happy and to forget about her blues.”

This caused Gabi to crack a smile as she accepted the stuffed bear.

“There’s the Gabi we all know and love,” said Zak.

The rest of the night, the boys spent winning prizes for Gabi.  Eventually they won so many that a couple of the guys had to help Gabi carry them.  

While the group was walking through the circus grounds, Gabi thought she saw a flash of red hair off in the distance but she couldn’t be sure that it belonged to Jerome.

“Anyone else hungry?” asked Zak after awhile.

All of the boys agreed, so they found a large enough table where they could leave Gabi and all of her prizes to wait for their return.  As Gabi sat there she couldn’t help but watch the people around her. It had always been a past time of hers to people watch. Gabi was so focused on watching the people in front of her that she didn’t notice someone walking up behind her.  Suddenly Gabi felt fingers scitter over her sides just as someone yelled “BOO” behind her. Gabi very nearly jumped out of her skin but at least she didn’t scream.

“Damn it man!” Gabi exclaimed as she turned around expecting to see Zak standing there.

She was surprised to see a triumphant looking Jerome staring back at her.

“Looks like I got ya this time, dollface,” he said as plopped himself down next to her.

“Whatever.”

The edge in Gabi’s tone immediately struck Jerome, his smile slowly slid.

“Hey, what’s the matter?” he asked innocently.

When Gabi looked at Jerome, the look in her eyes unsettled him.  He had never seen such anger from her before.

“What’s the matter?” Gabi said coldly.  “What’s the matter is that I waited for two hours at the ticket booth for you to show up like an idiot!!”

Gabi’s sudden explosion made Jerome flinch.

“I-I,” Jerome stuttered.

“You what?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

“You didn’t mean to?  Then what did you mean?”

“I didn’t think that you would come back after what happened last week,” Jerome said looking at his hands.

Gabi sighed and allowed her anger and hurt to subside.  She looked back to Jerome, who now looked like a puppy who had been struck.  Gabi reached out and tilted Jerome’s chin up so that he could look into her eyes which had now softened.

“Jerome, after what happened last week I especially wanted to come back to see you again,” Gabi said softly.  “Plus I needed to give you this.”

Gabi reached into her pocket and pulled out a scrap of paper.  She extended it out to Jerome.

“What’s this?” he asked taking the paper.

“It’s my address and cell phone number, the address is so that you can write me letters and my number is so that if you’re ever back in Gotham and need to get away from Lila, you can call me and I’ll come get you.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because you’re my friend and I treat friends as family and I don’t let my family get hurt, not if I can offer protection.”

No one had ever offered Jerome any such kindness, not even his own mother.  Jerome immediately felt tears well up in his eyes as he launched himself at Gabi to hug her.  Gabi was surprised by Jerome’s reaction but accepted and returned the hug. “Thank you” was all that Jerome could say.  As Gabi hugged him, she said, “ I’m sorry for yelling at you, it’s my fault.”

Jerome sat back and said, “It’s not your fault Gabi, it’s mine, I should have know that you would stay by my side through thick and thin.”

Gabi gave Jerome a weary smile.  Just as Jerome was about to say something, a voice could be heard calling his name.

“I guess I have to go,” he said slowly.

“Go on, I don’t want you to get in trouble, besides my brother and his friends should be back any second.”

“I guess this is goodbye then.”

“Only for now, we’ll see eachother again soon, I’m sure.”

The voice again called for Jerome this time with more urgency.  Jerome got up from his spot and started to jog away.

“Make sure you write to me,” Gabi called out after him.

“I will,” Jerome yelled back over his shoulder.

Gabi watched as Jerome disappeared from view, wondering if she would ever see the redhead again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jerome’s in trouble and needs Gabi to help him out. Takes place a year before Season 1 of Gotham.

After Haly’s Circus left Gotham and Jerome along with it, Gabi’s life continued on like it always had.  As the months passed, Jerome would send letters to Gabi telling her of where the circus stopped and how he was doing in general.  In Jerome’s last letter, that arrived towards the end of September, he said that the circus should be coming back to Gotham soon. As Gabi read this her heart swelled with joy.

It was a days after Jerome’s last letter had arrived when Gabi got a call on her cell phone from a number she didn’t recognize.  Her gut told her to answer it.

“Hello?” she asked.

“Gabi?  It’s Jerome, I need your help.”

“Where are you?” Gabi said urgently.

Jerome told her that he was calling from a pay phone within the heart of Gotham city.  Gabi quickly wrote down the address and grabbed the keys to the car, a jacket, and some towels.  Gabi drove through the pouring rain as fast yet carefully as she could.

When she finally reached the place where Jerome had called from, Gabi saw someone huddled up against the wall of a brick building.  Gabi pulled over and got out of the car. She carefully made her way over to the curled up person.

“Jerome is that you?”

The person looked up at Gabi, it was Jerome.

“Gabi, you came,” Jerome said as he leaped to his feet.  He gave her a big hug, which Gabi gladly accepted and returned.

“Of course I came to get you, now come on, let’s get you home,” Gabi said as she let go of Jerome.

Jerome and Gabi rushed to the car.  Once inside the vehicle, Gabi reached into the backseat and grabbed the towels she had brought with her.  She handed one to Jerome so he could attempt to dry off. Gabi drove back towards her home. She kept quiet waiting for Jerome to offer up why he had run away from the circus.  After a few minutes he spoke up.

“Thanks Gabi.”

“You’re welcome Jerome.”

Gabi glanced over at Jerome to see that he was looking at her.

“You want to tell me how bad it got?” she asked gently.

“It was real bad, I-I just couldn’t stand her abuse any longer, not when I knew I had a way out with you.”

“It’s alright Jerome I’ll keep you safe,” Gabi said as she laid a hand on Jerome’s knee.

The rest of the ride was in silence.

When Gabi reached her house, she rushed Jerome inside.  She immediately went up to the second floor with Jerome right behind her and knocked on Zak’s door.  No one answered although Gabi thought she heard movement on the other side of the door.

“Zak come on I know you’re in there!!” Gabi shouted as she pounded on the door.

“What!?!  Can’t a guy have some privacy in his own room!!” was the only reply.

“Zak come on I need your help!”

“Go get it from someone else, I’m busy!”

“Zak please,” Gabi said sounding almost defeated as she leaned her forehead against the door.

“Fine.”

Gabi took a step back as Zak’s door swung open.  A tall, young man with shaggy black hair leaned against the door frame.  With his lack of a shirt it was easy to see that he was well muscled for his athletic frame and a good three inches taller than Gabi and Jerome.  Zak’s gray eyes flicked between Gabi and Jerome.

“Who’s he?” Zak asked nodding towards Jerome.

“He’s the reason I need your help.”

“What do you need?”

“He needs a full set of clean clothes,” Gabi said quickly.

Zak sighed.

“Alright, give me a minute.”

He shut the door behind him.  Zak quickly came back with a stack of clothes.

“Here,” he said as he handed them over to Gabi.

“Thank you Zak.”

“Whatever,” Zak said as he closed his door.

Gabi turned to Jerome and handed him the clothes.  She noticed that Jerome was slightly shivering now.

“Follow me.”

Gabi showed Jerome to the bathroom and told him to take a hot shower.  As Jerome was doing that, Gabi went to her room and quickly changed into some dry sweats and a T-shirt.  Her curly hair was now frizzy but Gabi would deal with it later. Gabi waited outside of her door, which just so happened to be next to the bathroom.  After a few minutes the bathroom door opened as Jerome stepped out.

“Feel better?” Gabi asked.

“Yeah, lots better,” Jerome replied as he smiled at her.  “Um, where should I put these?”

Jerome indicated to the wet clothes in his arms.

“Oh I’ll show you, give me a second.”

Gabi quickly grabbed her own wet clothes from her room then led Jerome to the laundry room.  They put their clothes on top of the washing machine then the pair headed back towards Gabi’s room.  Gabi stopped by the kitchen to find her adoptive mom, Fiona, getting things ready to make dinner. Fiona was about 5’9” and had long, straight, blonde hair.

As Gabi walked into the spacious kitchen she said, “Hey Mom can you make an extra plate, a friend of mine is staying for dinner.”

“Oh which friend is staying?” Fiona asked as she turned to face Gabi and Jerome.

“Mom this is Jerome, Jerome this is my adoptive mom,” Gabi said introducing them.

“So this is the infamous Jerome that you’ve talked so much about,” Fiona said, “It’s nice to meet you Jerome.”

“It’s nice to meet you too Mrs….” Jerome trailed off as he reached his hand out.

“Luna,” Fiona filled in as she took Jerome’s hand and shook it.

“Mrs. Luna,” Jerome confirmed, “thank you so much for your hospitality.”

“Any friend of my daughter’s is welcomed here,” Fiona said smiling.

Fiona turned to Gabi and said, “Dinner should be ready in an hour and a half.”

“Ok, we’ll be up in my room till then.”

Gabi walked out of the kitchen and towards her room with Jerome following behind her.  When she reached her door, Gabi opened it to reveal an ordinary teenager’s room. There was a bed, a desk with a computer sat on top of it, a dresser, and two full length mirrors that hide a closet.

“Welcome to my lair,” Gabi said as she made a sweeping gesture with her arm.

“Oh wow, this is your room,” Jerome said in wonder as he looked around the spacious room.

Gabi was about to say something when she remembered the small space that Jerome had called his room.  Jerome wandered around the space looking at everything as Gabi closed her door and moved to sit on her bed.  Jerome came over and sat next to her still taking the room in.

“Wow, so this is what it’s like to have your own room, it’s so… nice,” Jerome said turning to Gabi.

“I never really thought of it before but yeah, I guess it is.”

Jerome suddenly flopped back on to the bed.

“Ahh and your bed is so soft,” Jerome said as he stretched out.  “How do you ever leave it?”

“Trust me it’s tough sometimes,” Gabi said as she laid back besides Jerome.

Gabi noticed that his eyes were closed and a look of bliss took over his features as he took a deep breath in.  She turned her head so that she was staring at the ceiling and placed her hands on top of her stomach.

“So how did you end up in such a nice place like this?” Jerome asked after a while.

“Remember how I told you about the situation that I came from, right?”

“Yeah, you got taken away from your abusive parents.”

“Right, well when I got taken away, I didn’t have any family that would take me in, so I was put into foster care,” Gabi said, “I was in there for a while and then one day a family wanted to take a look at me.”

“Your adoptive family?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t know that at the time, well when I met the family they had their two sons with them, one who was my age and another who was three years older.”

“The sons were Zak and Ryan.”

“Yup, so while the adults were talking, my seven year old self got the bright idea to go after Zak, and I still don’t know how I did it but I managed to pin him,” Gabi said with a chuckle.  “For some reason that was the selling point for Mr. Luna to decide to adopt me and the rest is history.”

“Huh, so let me get this straight, you got adopted into your family all because you got into a fight with one of their sons?” Jerome remarked, “damn you’re lucky.”

“Well when you put it that way, I am considered very lucky,” Gabi said with a laugh.

Gabi and Jerome continued to talk for another hour before they were called down to dinner.  Jerome followed Gabi back down into the kitchen area where a long table was set up. There were already two young boys seated at the table.  They were both blonde and had short hair. Gabi took a seat on the opposite side from her two younger brothers. Jerome sat down in the chair on her left.  Zak was the last one to the table, he sat on the same side as his younger brothers. Everyone was quiet at the table as they waited. What they were waiting for , Jerome didn’t know. Finally, the person that they were waiting for strode in.

Mr. Luna was a very imposing man at 6’6” and heavily muscled.  He had his blonde hair in a crew cut and a thick mustache. His blue eyes quickly took in the scene in front of him, taking note of the stranger at the table.  Mr. Luna sat down in his usual seat at the head of the table, placing him and Jerome near one another.

Jerome sat uncomfortably with his eyes focused on a spot on the wood table.  He risked a quick glance at Mr. Luna, who was watching Jerome with narrowed eyes.  Jerome quickly averted his eyes back to the spot on the table and gently nudged Gabi with his elbow.

“Hmm,” Gabi hummed quietly as she turned her head towards him.

Jerome made a slight head movement in the direction of Mr. Luna, Gabi glanced at her father whose eyes hadn’t left the hole that they were drilling into the back of Jerome’s head.  She decided to break the silence.

“Guys I would like to introduce you to my friend Jerome,” Gabi said.

“Jerome, this is my adoptive father Daniel Luna,” she said indicating towards Mr. Luna.

“It’s nice to meet you sir,” Jerome said as he tentatively stuck his hand out towards Gabi’s father.

When Mr. Luna took Jerome’s hand, it suddenly felt like Jerome was stuck in a vice grip, Mr. Luna’s hand shake was so strong.  By the time that Daniel released Jerome’s hand, Jerome was hiding the fact that he was in slight pain. Gabi continued introducing the family.

“You already met Zak, so this is Sam and Adam,” she said indicating to the two young boys.  “The older of the two is Sam at age nine and the younger at age six is Adam.”

Just then Mrs. Luna walked in carrying a glass pan full of lasagna.

“And you met my lovely adoptive mother, Fiona Luna,” Gabi concluded as the glass pan was set down on the middle of the table.

Fiona sat down at the other end of the table.  Since the plates and silverware had already been set, Jerome started to reach towards the pan of lasagna to serve himself but was stopped by Gabi.

“Dad always gets served first then it goes by rank,” she whispered.

“Oh sorry,” Jerome whispered sheepishly as he brought his hand back.

Mr. Luna served himself a large portion of lasagna, then Mrs. Luna served herself a small portion, Zak soon followed with his own helping of food, and then Gabi.  Once she was done getting her food, Gabi handed the spatula to Jerome who got himself a portion equal to Gabi’s. Finally Sam and Adam got themselves their food in that order.

“So Jerome, how did you meet my daughter?” Mr. Luna asked in a deep, raspy voice.

Jerome froze, his fork halfway to his mouth.  He had been expecting someone to ask him that question but the fact that it came from Gabi’s father made it worse.  Jerome lowered his fork to rest on his plate.

“Well I met her at the circus, I work and live there,” Jerome started.  He went on to tell his side of the story of how he and Gabi had met, leaving out any details that could have gotten him killed.  As Jerome talked, Mr. Luna’s icy gaze was unwavering. When Jerome was done, Mr. Luna simply nodded. 

All at once, normal dinner conversation started at the table.  Jerome quietly listened to everyone tell of how their day had gone.  At one point during a lull in conversation Gabi spoke up.

“By the way at least you have a shirt on now, Zak.”

“I told you I was doing something,” Zak retorted.

“Oh, I’m sure you were doing someone,” Gabi said under her breath.

Jerome couldn’t help but chuckle at her remark which earned him a glare from Mr. Luna.

As the dinner continued, Jerome answered any questions that Gabi’s family had for him about his life in the circus, which came mostly from Sam and Adam.  For Gabi herself, she felt happy that her younger brothers were so interested in Jerome as well as the rest of her family.

By the time that dinner was over it had started to get dark outside. 

“Jerome will you be needing a ride home?” asked Mrs. Luna as she began to clear plates form the table.

“Umm,” Jerome stalled as he turned to look at Gabi.

“Actually the thing is that...umm Jerome is going to be staying here, with us,” Gabi said slowly.

Mr. Luna’s head snapped up at this.

“No, he has his own family to stay with,” he said in his raspy voice.

“But Dad, Jerome really needs a place to stay,” Gabi pleaded.

“Absolutely not, I will not have a complete stranger staying under my roof when he already has a safe place to stay.”

“That’s the thing though Dad, he doesn’t have a safe place to stay.”

“And why would that be?” Mr. Luna asked with narrowed eyes.

“Because Jerome is like me,” Gabi said glancing at Jerome, “his mother is physically abusive towards him.”

Mr. Luna looked at Jerome.

“Is this true young man?” he asked in a softer tone.

Jerome gathered his courage and looked Mr. Luna in the eye and answered, “Yes sir and I have the scars to prove it.”

Mr. Luna’s cold, blue eyes softened as he saw that Jerome was telling the truth.

“Ok, if that’s the case then Jerome you can stay with us for as long as you like,” Mr. Luna said.

Jerome and Gabi’s faces both brightened up at hearing this.

“Under one condition,” Mr. Luna continued, “Jerome you’re going to have to sleep on the couch.”

“Of course, thank you sir,” Jerome said nearly bouncing in his seat like a child.  “It’s a small price to pay for being in a safe home.”

Gabi quickly got out of her chair and went over to father and gave him a hug.

“Thank you so much Dad, it means a lot to me,” she said.

“You’re welcome sweetheart,” Mr. Luna said with a hint of a smile on his lips.

Once Gabi let go of her father, Mr. Luna stood up from his chair.  He motioned for Jerome stand up as well. Jerome did so and moved to stand near Gabi.  Mr. Luna absolutely towered over the two of them now that he was standing up. Mr. Luna stuck his hand out towards Jerome which he took with his own.  Jerome was very startled when he was pulled into a hug. Just as quickly as Mr. Luna pulled Jerome in, he let go of him.

“Welcome to the family, Jerome,” he said clapping a large hand on Jerome’s shoulder.

Mr. Luna let go of Jerome and turned to address Gabi.

“You’ll be responsible for him, make sure he follows the house rules.”

Gabi straightened up and saluted her father.

“Sir yes sir.”

“At ease soldier,” Mr. Luna said before walking away.

Gabi relaxed and turned to Jerome who had a bewildered look on his face.

“What just happened?”

“You’ve been unofficially adopted into the family,” Gabi said a smile.  “Come on, let’s get your bed ready.”

Gabi led Jerome to a closet that held blankets, pillows, and pillowcases.  Jerome picked out a pillow that felt comfortable to him along with a pillowcase and blankets. Between the two of them they were able to carry everything into the living room.  Gabi set up Jerome’s makeshift bed on the couch which Jerome found to be surprisingly comfortable. 

* * *

Jerome awoke and yawned as he stretched.  He looked around the room that he was in noting the absence of a particular person.  It had been a few days since the Lunas had taken him in and only a couple of nights since Gabi had started sneaking Jerome into her room at night.

After a few nights of sleeping on the couch, Jerome was woken up in the middle of the night by a visitor.  He awoke with a start when someone touched his shoulder, sitting bolt upright he was prepared to yell or flee or  _ something _ .

“Shh! It’s ok,” a female voice shushed him, and he could suddenly make out Gabi’s face right in front of him in the gloom.

“G-Gab-” he began, but she pressed her finger to his lips for quiet.  Jerome continued in a quieter voice. “Gabi, what’s going on, what happened?”

“Come on, just follow me,” Gabi whispered, beckoning with her hands as she stepped away from the couch.  Jerome got up slowly, still trembling slightly, and followed her.

Growing up with his mother, Jerome had learned the art of sneaking silently, and so made barely a sound as he crept along after Gabi.  He was pretty sure that nobody could hear his racing heart, and he tried to hold his breath so that he didn’t breathe too loudly. This was probably a dream.  Just a dream. When Gabi opened her bedroom door, beckoning him inside, he was almost certain that this was a dream.

Gabi closed the door quietly behind Jerome before walking over to her bed, still beckoning him over.

“It’s ok,” Gabi whispered, patting the bed.  Jerome hesitated until Gabi rolled her eyes and gently tugged him over to the bed.  Jerome climbed into the bed, grateful for the warmth but still so confused. What was going on?  When Gabi climbed in after him, though, Jerome decided not to question it. Somehow, he was able to fall asleep, surrounded by Gabi’s sweet scent.

Jerome was confused when he awoke the next morning to find himself not on the couch.  He rubbed his eyes, blinking as his surroundings finally came into focus and registered in his brain.  This was Gabi’s room. But then why…

With a gasp, Jerome looked down at himself, patting his clothing.  He was still dressed, and the bed seemed clean, just slept in, so that was good.  He let out a sigh of relief. At least he hadn’t done something stupid. But where was Gabi?

At the sound of footsteps padding towards the room, Jerome gasped and immediately began looking around for a place to hide.  His heart raced. He could try hiding under the bed, or in the wardrobe, or-

The door opened and Jerome almost screamed.  But when he saw who it was, all of the adrenaline went out of him in a rush, almost making him collapse in relief.

“Oh, hey, you’re up,” said Gabi, closing the door behind her.  She kept her voice low. “How did you sleep?”

“G-G-” Jerome stammered, still shaking like a leaf.  He pointed to the bed. “Was I? Did we?”

“Oh!” said Gabi, her eyes widened as her cheeks turned red.  “Oh, no, no, nothing like that, I did bring you to my bed but not like that, not for that reason, God.”  At least, Jerome reflected, he wasn’t the only one right now whose face resembled a tomato.

“Oh, okay, good,” said Jerome, letting out a breath of relief.  “Then what…?”

“I just…thought you’d be lonely, sleeping there on the couch in a strange house,” said Gabi, fiddling with the sleeve of her shirt.

“Oh,” said Jerome, finally feeling himself beginning to calm. “Well, thanks.”  He smiled. “And I did sleep well.” He felt more well-rested than he had in years.

“That’s good, I’m glad to hear it,” said Gabi, smiling. “I’ll go down to breakfast and you make up some excuse and follow me after, that sound okay?”

“Yeah, that sounds great,” said Jerome, nodding.

A few days later, this was Jerome’s new normal- going to bed on the couch and then waking up in Gabi’s bed.  It was still a little scary, especially knowing that Gabi’s burly father and brothers also lived here, but Jerome liked it.

Now Jerome was used to the routine.  He got up and made his way downstairs.  The house was empty except for him as everyone else was out on their morning run.  He made himself a piece of toast and started to get out plates for breakfast. Jerome still had a hard time believing that the entire family woke up at five in the morning every morning.  Even Sam and Adam although they were usually still half asleep when they went out running.

At six o’clock, Jerome heard the click of the front door opening.  It absolutely sounded like a herd of elephants was making its way through the house as all six members of the family came in.  From the raised voices alone, he could tell that Gabi and Zak were in a race to get to the upstairs shower first. Fiona made her way into the kitchen and found that the coffee maker was already on.

“Oh thank you Jerome,” she said as she poured herself a cup.

“You’re welcome Mrs. Luna,” Jerome said as he got up from where he was sitting at the table.  “What are you making for breakfast so I can get the ingredients out?”

“Scrambled eggs,” Fiona said, “Oh by the way, I use --”

Fiona stopped mid-sentence when she saw that Jerome had already placed the gallon of milk out on the counter.

Jerome turned to face her.

“Oh sorry force of habit, I usually use some milk in the eggs to make them fluffier.”

“No it’s ok, I do the same thing,” Fiona said with a smile.

Jerome returned her smile and together they made a large batch of scrambled eggs.

Everyone else came back from taking their showers and began to dig into their breakfast.  Jerome sat next to Gabi, who by the look of her wet hair had gotten the shower second. Jerome ate slowly enjoying his eggs as he watched the other kids shovel the food into their mouths as fast as they could.  The school day morning rush had been very jarring to Jerome at first and it still was but nowhere near as bad as it had been. Zak was the first to finish his plate soon followed by Gabi then Sam and finally Adam, who had only eaten half of his plate.  When each of them had finished their plate they had rushed off to start getting ready for school. That now left Jerome sitting there with Mr. Luna, who was now reading the newspaper.

When Jerome was done eating he gathered all the plates and started to rinse them off in the sink.

“You can put those in the dishwasher,” said the raspy voice of Mr. Luna.

“Oh ok,” said Jerome as he glanced over his shoulder.

Jerome put the rinsed dishes in the dishwasher like Mr. Luna had suggested.

By the time that seven o’clock rolled around, the herd of elephants came stampeding back through the house as everyone rushed to the two cars.  Mr. Luna took the two older kids to Gotham High on his way to work while Fiona carted the other two to their elementary school. That left Jerome alone for awhile until Fiona returned from dropping Sam and Adam off at school.  Jerome went over to the couch in the living room and plopped down to watch TV till Fiona got back. 

When Fiona walked through the front door carrying some grocery bags, Jerome jumped up to help her.

“Here let me get those for you,” Jerome said.

“I’ve got these but you can go out to the car and help get the rest.”

Jerome did as he was told and brought the rest of the bags into the kitchen.  He helped Fiona to put the groceries where they needed to be.

When they were done with that, Jerome asked, “Is there anything I can help you with around the house?”

At first Fiona was slightly taken aback because she was so used to doing everything by herself.

“It’s ok I can do everything,” Fiona said.

“No really, I want to help and earn my keep,” Jerome insisted.

Fiona hesitated before answering.

“Well, I could use an extra pair of hands to get everything done,” Fiona said thinking out loud.  “Ok Jerome you can earn your keep.”

Jerome smiled as Fiona set him to work.

It was about 3:45 in the afternoon when Gabi and Zak walked in the door.  They made their way to the kitchen and saw Jerome standing at the stove whistling a tune.  Zak turned to Gabi with a raised eyebrow. Gabi only shrugged her shoulders at the unspoken question.  As Gabi and her brother stood there, Jerome turned from the stove with a plate in his hand. Jerome let out a completely manly scream as he jumped out of his skin and nearly dropped the plate.

“Sup,” Zak said as he snickered at Jerome’s reaction.  Gabi quickly elbowed him in the side.

“What did I tell you about sneaking up on people, Gabi,” Jerome said in an exasperated tone. 

“Sorry, it’s second nature for us to be able to sneak up on people,” Gabi said, “what were you doing anyway?” 

“Oh right,” Jerome said as he looked at the plate in his hand.  “Your mom told me to make you guys grilled cheese sandwiches for when you got home.”

Gabi and Zak walked over and each took a sandwich from the plate leaving one which Jerome took for himself.

“Thanks man,” Zak said around a mouthful of bread and cheese as he walked away.

Gabi sighed.

“Please forgive his rudeness and thank you for making these,” Gabi said raising her grilled cheese.

“Your welcome.”

“So what did you do all day?”

“I helped your mom out around the house.”

“Really?  Why would you do that?”

“Because I wanted to, plus if it helps me get into the good graces of your family then I might be spared from death if they were to find out about uh...stuff.”

It took Gabi a second to realize what Jerome meant and when she did, a tinge of red surfaced on her cheeks.

“Oh right, yeah that could possibly help your case.”

After a brief pause Jerome spoke.

“So...how was school?”

“It was good, Zak managed to not get into any fights that I would have had to help get him out of,” Gabi said nonchalantly.

“Fights? Why would you guys get into fights?” Jerome said with some concern in his voice.

“Cause we’re the top dogs as far as being able to kick ass is concerned,” Gabi said matter-of-factly.

Jerome’s jaw hung open as he stared at her.

“Wha-? How?” Jerome started, “ I never took  **you** for being a bully.”

Gabi’s head snapped to face him.

“What? No, no you’ve got it  **all** wrong, the only reason my brother and I get into fights is because we’re defending those who can’t defend themselves.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah Gotham High is full of  **actual** bullies who beat people up for no reason other than cause they want to.”

“Then why do you get into fights?” Jerome said confused.

“Dad always told us to stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves and that usually means prying some bully off of a kid and giving them a taste of their own medicine.” 

“Oh wow, I’m  **so** sorry for doubting you,” Jerome said sincerely.

“It’s ok, you didn’t know all the details.”

“How many fights do you think you’ve been in?”

Gabi sighed before she replied.

“Honestly, I have no idea I’ve been in so many,” Gabi said with a hint of sadness in her voice, “which unfortunately shows just how bad the problem is.”

“Damn, that’s real brave of you to do that.”

“It’s not bravery, it’s the right thing to do.”

Jerome was quiet for a few moments while he absorbed what Gabi had said.

“What do your parents think about you getting into so many fights?” he asked finally.

Gabi cracked a lopsided grin as she remembered the first time she got into a fight at school.

“Initially when they found out they were pissed, especially my dad because he thought that I was using my training for evil, but once I told him the reason that I got into the fight, he completely understood and actually praised me for standing up for someone else.”

Jerome nodded slowly with understanding.

“You’re really lucky that your parents are so understanding.”

“Yeah, I am lucky to have them,” Gabi said solemnly. 

Silence enveloped them as they stood there in the kitchen.  The silence was a comfortable one which Gabi hadn’t expected.

“I’m going to go do my homework,” Gabi said breaking the silence.

She moved off towards the stairs and Jerome followed behind her.

* * *

As the days passed, a routine was established.  Jerome began to join the Luna family on their morning runs and then help out around the house while everyone except Fiona was away.  He would end the day hanging out with Gabi when she got home from school.

It was Friday afternoon and Jerome was hanging out in Gabi’s room.  Gabi was working on her computer while Jerome was laying on her bed reading a book.  As Gabi was working she heard footsteps coming towards her room. From the sound of the weight of the steps and the rhythm, she could tell that it was Zak.  When Zak’s footsteps reached the entrance to her room, Gabi swung her chair around to face the door.

“What do you want?” Gabi said.

From the look in Zak’s eyes, Gabi knew exactly what he wanted.  She got up from her chair and took a few steps away from her desk.  As Gabi expected, Zak ran towards her and tackled her.

Jerome had been so lost in the book that he had been reading that he hadn’t noticed Zak at all.  Jerome only clued into what was going on when he heard a grunt and something crash against the bed.  He looked up and was startled to find a tangled mass of limbs on the floor.

“What the hell?” Jerome said in surprise.

Gabi looked up from her spot on the floor.

“Oh sorry about that Jerome, I should have warned you that Zak here likes to roughhouse with me a lot.”

From his spot on the bed Jerome got a good view of how Zak’s neck was currently clamped between Gabi’s thighs.

“You...bitch,” Zak said struggling to breathe.

“Come on, Zak, I know you love me,” Gabi said in a sing song voice.

“Never...at least...make me...tap out.”

“Oh you want me to make you tap out?  I can easily do that,” Gabi said with a devilish grin.

Gabi tightened her grip on Zak’s neck just enough that it could possibly knock him unconscious after awhile but not enough to do any damage to his throat.  After a few seconds Zak started to tap his hand on Gabi’s thigh. Gabi immediately released her grip on her brother and removed her legs from around his neck.  Zak gasped for air and started to cough as he reached for his throat.

Jerome sat there stunned.  He could understand siblings roughhousing but not to the extent that he just saw.

“You guys do this all the time?” Jerome said in shock.

Gabi and Zak looked at him from where they were sitting on the floor.

“Yeah, we do it all the time, plus it keeps our skills sharp,” Zak said.

“You should try it sometime, I’ll go easy on you,” Gabi said with a wink.

“Even if she were to go easy, you would need to know the basics to be safe,” Zak stated.

“Why don’t you join us tomorrow morning for combat practice, Jerome,” Gabi offered.

Jerome thought for a moment.

“Well, if I am apart of the family I guess I should,” he said.

“Great!” Gabi said in excitement.

* * *

The next morning, Jerome found himself in the basement of the house along with Gabi, Zak, and Mr. Luna.  The basement had been converted into a dojo of sorts with thick pads covering the floor. Mr. Luna stood in front of the three kids who were lined up.

“Alright Jerome today you will be learning the basics of hand-to-hand combat, but first I will need to evaluate you,”  Mr. Luna stated. “Step over there.”

Mr. Luna pointed to a spot off to the side of him.  Jerome stepped to the indicated spot. He started to prepare himself to face Zak, so Jerome wasn’t necessarily paying attention to what Mr. Luna was saying to the other two.  Jerome was confused when Gabi stepped to a spot opposite him.

“Wait, aren’t I going to be facing Zak?” Jerome asked Mr. Luna.

“In time you will, but for now this is a lesson in being able to adapt, in a real life situation you will not be able to predict who your opponent will be,” Mr. Luna said.  “Also in this case Zak is not known to go easy on people.”

Jerome nodded and started to size Gabi up, which proved somewhat difficult considering what she was wearing.

Gabi had had a feeling that she was going to be facing Jerome so she had decided to wear only a sports bra and a tight pair of shorts.  Her outfit revealed a very well muscled and toned body.

“Jerome you are to attack Gabi and Gabi will deal with the situation as she sees fit, is that understood?” Mr. Luna instructed.

“Yes sir,” Gabi said.

“I understand,” Jerome answered.

“Jerome when you’re ready begin the exercise,” said Mr. Luna.

Jerome took a second before he charged at Gabi.  His plan had been to tackle her but Gabi easily side-stepped him.  Jerome caught himself before he went careening into the wall and tried again with the same result.  This pattern continued on for sometime until Mr. Luna called for a stop.

“Alright as we are getting nowhere at this point, Gabi allow Jerome to take you down,” Mr. Luna said slightly frustrated.

“Yes sir.”

Gabi stood in her spot and readied herself for Jerome’s attack.  This time when Jerome went for the tackle he actually made contact.  Gabi and Jerome fell to the floor with a slight thud. The way in which they landed meant that Jerome was completely lying on top of Gabi.  Jerome raised himself up a little and couldn’t help but get lost in Gabi’s green eyes.

Gabi’s heart beat a little faster as she felt Jerome’s warm breath on her face.  She tilted her chin up just enough that it would be enticing to Jerome.

Jerome’s heart was nearly beating out of his chest which he was sure Gabi could feel.  Without realizing it he was moving his face and lips closer to Gabi’s. When their lips were about an inch away from touching, Gabi made her move.

The way that they had fallen also meant that Jerome’s legs had ended up in between Gabi’s.  This allowed Gabi to position her right leg in a way that she could use it to push her hips up and to the left.  She did this and was easily able to pin Jerome on his back.

Jerome had been so lost in Gabi that it took him a second to realize that she was now sitting on top of his stomach and had pinned his wrists above his head.  Gabi leaned down so that her lips were next to Jerome’s ear.

“Nice try,” she whispered.

The moment was broken by Mr. Luna clearing his throat.  At that Gabi sat up straight and brought Jerome’s wrists to rest on his chest.

“Very good Gabi, Jerome that was your first lesson,” said Mr. Luna.

“Which was?” Jerome asked trying to keep his voice from cracking.

“Don’t fall for female temptation tactics, also Gabi don’t rely on those type of tactics either.”

“I know Dad,” Gabi said with a smile as she stayed seated where she was.

“Gabi, Jerome take a few minutes brake.”

“Ok,” both Gabi and Jerome said.

Gabi let go of Jerome’s wrists and stood up.  Jerome stayed lying on the floor for a few seconds trying to compose himself.  Gabi noticed that Jerome didn’t immediately get up so she offered her hand to help him up.  Jerome gladly took her hand and was hauled to his feet.

“You ok?” Gabi asked Jerome as they walked over to a table that had a water container and cups.

“What? Yeah I’m good,” Jerome said quickly, “You just caught me by surprise is all.”

“You sure?” Gabi questioned.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Ok, if you say so.”

After a few minutes, Gabi and Jerome returned to training.

That night Jerome was very sore from all the training he had done that day.

* * *

Jerome had been staying with the Luna’s for three weeks when everything began to crash down around him.  It was a Wednesday afternoon when everything started.

Gabi and Jerome were up in her room when they heard the doorbell ring.  They didn’t think anything of it and continued what they were doing. As Gabi was stretched out in the splits she heard her father call for her and Jerome to come downstairs.

“What do you think that’s about?” Jerome asked as he got up from the bed.

“I don’t know,” Gabi replied as she shrugged her shoulders.

Jerome helped Gabi up out of her split and followed her downstairs.  They found Mr. Luna seated at the kitchen table along with a man that even Gabi hadn’t seen before.

“Take a seat kids,” Mr. Luna said.

Gabi and Jerome looked at each other in confusion as they sat down at the table across from the man.  He had longer, brown hair and a fedora set in front of him on the table.

“What’s this about?” Gabi asked.

“This is Detective Harvey Bullock from the Gotham City Police Department,” Mr. Luna said solemnly.

“Ok,” Gabi said slowly, “what is he here for?”

“I’m here to take Jerome back to his mother,” Detective Bullock spoke up.

Silence hung in the air as his words sunk in.

“What? Why?” Jerome asked in shock.

“Jerome, how old are you?” Det. Bullock asked.

“I’m seventeen, but what does that have to do with anything?”

“At seventeen you’re technically still a child in the eyes of the law, and as such you are a missing child.”

“Who reported him missing?” Gabi asked.

Detective Bullock took a second to look at his notes before answering, “Lila Valeska reported him missing a week ago.”

Jerome’s jaw fell open.

“Why would she report me missing?” Jerome said to himself.

“Your mother is very worried about you, Jerome,” Det. Bullock said.

“No she doesn’t! She’s an abusive alcoholic!” Gabi nearly shouted.

“That’s a serious allegation young lady.”

“It’s not an allegation, it’s true I saw her verbally and physically abuse him,” Gabi insisted.

Detective Bullock thought for a moment.

“If what you say is true then Jerome will have to take his allegations through the court system, but for now he will need to be returned to his mother.”

“No!!!” Gabi and Jerome cried.

“I don’t make the rules kid,” Det. Bullock said, “I can give you a few minutes to say goodbye though.”

Gabi and Jerome sat there stunned trying to process what Detective Bullock had just told them.

“I’m sorry guys,” Mr. Luna said as he stood up to walk Harvey Bullock to the front door.

They stayed sitting there.  Gabi felt completely numb while Jerome was on the verge of tears.  Neither one of them said anything as they sat in stunned silence. The quiet was ruined when Detective Bullock called for Jerome to leave.  Both of them got up and mechanically walked towards the front door. Gabi turned to Jerome and rushed forward to hug him. As they embraced Gabi felt a tear drop land on her shoulder.

“I’ll fix this Jerome, I swear,” Gabi whispered into Jerome’s ear.  “In the meantime I’ll come visit you.”

Jerome leaned back a bit and asked, “You promise?”

“I promise.”

Detective Bullock cleared his throat indicating that it was time for Jerome to leave.  Gabi broke her embrace from Jerome. Detective Bullock opened the door and ushered Jerome out to the waiting car.  Mr. Luna laid a hand on his daughter’s shoulder. Gabi looked up at him with such a sadness that it pulled at his hardened heartstrings.

“I’m sorry sweetheart but there is nothing that I can do for him,” Mr. Luna said.

* * *

It was Saturday night when Gabi headed to the circus to see Jerome.  She waited at the ticket booth like she had done before, however this time she waited with a heavy heart.  Gabi spotted a head of fiery red hair making its way towards her, she met Jerome halfway. When they reached each other there was an air of misery and sadness that surrounded them.

“Hey Jerome,” Gabi said with a weary smile.

“Hi.”

Jerome let out a sigh as he looked at the ground that he was toeing with his shoe.

“So what do you want to do tonight?” he finally asked.

“Let’s watch the stars or whatever we can see of them,” Gabi said.

She took Jerome’s hand in her’s and started to walk towards the edge of the circus grounds.  Jerome walked beside her letting Gabi lead the way.

They found a spot that was far enough away from the circus that nobody would find them.  Gabi and Jerome laid down in the grass next to each other like they had done so many times before.  It was hard for them to see very many of the stars due to all the light from Gotham City, however a few stood out.

Lying there so close to Jerome, Gabi started to feel the now familiar pull on her heartstrings.  It had been a slight tug on them when Jerome had stayed with her but that tug had grown into a tough jerking and pulling when Jerome had walked out the front door that last time.

_ No, I’m not falling in love with my best friend,  _ Gabi thought, trying to keep the wall around her heart from falling.

But when Gabi turned her head to look at Jerome, her wall came tumbling down when she saw the look of peace on Jerome’s face.

_ Say it! Say that you love him! _ , her mind screamed.  Somehow Gabi fought the voice back.

_ I do love him but I love him enough to remain friends because that is the right thing to do.  Hurt in silence so that he can remain happy. _

Gabi and Jerome stayed there in the field until it was time for the visitors to leave.  Jerome walked Gabi as far as the ticket booth before he turned to disappear into the crowd of people leaving.

* * *

 

Jerome had told Gabi that the circus would be leaving the next day around noon, so Gabi made sure to be there as early as she possibly could.  Zak followed Gabi at a distance as she weaved her way through the circus. She eventually found Jerome near his trailer.

“Gabi?” Jerome said with surprise when he saw her approaching him.

“Hey,” Gabi said as she gave Jerome a hug.

“What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to say goodbye one last time,” she said, “and to give you this.”

Gabi reached into her bag and pulled out a black notebook with a sparkly ice cream cone on the cover.

“Sorry about the sparkles, it was the last one they had,” Gabi said as she rubbed the back of her neck.

Jerome smiled as he took the notebook.

“It’s alright, I actually kinda like it,” he said with a chuckle.  “Thank you.”

Jerome hugged Gabi for a long time, neither wanting to let go of the other.  Gabi finally let go of Jerome and took a step back not looking Jerome in the eye.  Jerome had a confused look on his face as he asked, “What’s the matter?”

Gabi took a second before she answered, “It’s nothing.”

“Are you sure? You seem… distracted by something.”

“Distracted? No I’m fine, I was just remembering to tell you that I came up with a plan for you to get away from all this.”

“Really? What is it?”

“When you come back to Gotham next year you’ll be 18, which means you’re a legal adult so you won’t have to live under your mother’s rule.”

“Ok and then where will I go?”

“You’ll come back to stay with me and my family,” Gabi said with some enthusiasm.

Jerome’s eyes lit up for a moment before they quickly went out again.

“What will I do till then?”

Gabi took a second.

“You’ll have to survive Jerome and that’s why I gave you that notebook, so that you have somewhere to put your feelings instead of keeping them bottled up.”

“But Gabi I don’t know if I can survive any longer,” Jerome said with such a sadness that it formed cracks in Gabi’s heart.

Just then Lila could be heard yelling for Jerome as other trailers started to pull away.

“I know Jerome but you’re going to have to survive and know that the first day that the circus gets into town I’ll be here waiting to get you, I promise.”

Jerome rushed to give Gabi a tight hug and whispered, “You promise?”

“I swear to you Jerome I  **will** be here,” Gabi said trying to fight back any signs of tears.

Lila yelled again for Jerome as he broke away from Gabi.

“Thank you for everything dollface,” Jerome said before he turned to run to his trailer.

Gabi was left standing there watching as Jerome’s trailer pulled away.  Before she knew what she was doing, Gabi was trying to run after the trailer but was caught by Zak.  Her brother held Gabi to his chest as she finally let go of the tears and they rushed down her face.

Jerome leaned out the window of the trailer and waved goodbye as Gabi got smaller in the distance.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jerome finds an unlikely inmate in Arkham. Takes place between the events of Season 1 and the beginning of Season 2 of Gotham.

It was mid-October when Jerome Valeska was charged with the murder of his mother, Lila Valeska.  It had been ruled by the judge that Jerome was criminally insane and thus he was committed to Arkham Asylum to live out his sentence.

* * *

 

One night not long after Jerome had been thrown in Arkham, something interesting happened.

Jerome was lying on his cot in his cell when he heard heavy footsteps approaching along with the rattle of chains.  This was unusual for at this time of night all of the inmates had been in their cells for a few hours. Sensing that something was off, Jerome got out of his cot and made his way to the tiny window in the metal door to his cell.  What he saw piqued his interest because it was two large guards leading, no dragging, an unconscious inmate through the corridor. The inmate was heavily chained even though they had been knocked out by some drug probably. The footsteps stopped at the empty cell next to Jerome’s.  He heard the cell door be opened and the chains removed from his new neighbor before the inmate was tossed into the cell. Jerome moved to the grate that connected the two cells and saw that his neighbor had landed in a heap in the middle of the floor.

Jerome watched the inmate for a few minutes seeing if they would move at all, which they disappointingly didn’t.  He thought for a moment then tried to get the inmate’s attention by talking to them. When that didn’t work, Jerome gave up and went back to lying on his cot.

* * *

 

The next day Jerome was in the rec room.  He was sitting with his little group that consisted of a cannibal named Greenwood,  Aaron who had killed his whole family with his bare hands, a businessman named Sionis, and Dobkins.  The day was going by slowly and nothing of interest was happening. At first Jerome didn’t notice the sudden hush that fell over the usually loud room until he heard the clanking of chains.  Jerome turned around in his seat to watch as an inmate was being brought down the hall. Now most times this would have meant nothing if it hadn’t been for how heavily chained up the inmate was.  It was standard at Arkham for inmates’ hands to be chained up while they were getting moved from one place to another. However this inmate’s legs were chained together and their handcuffs were connected to a chain that went around their waist.

As the guards were taking the chains off of the inmate, Jerome saw others moving away from the left side of the room.  Once the chains were off, the inmate made their way to a table on the far left side of the room, keeping their head down the entire time.  The newcomer’s back was to Jerome so he couldn’t get a good look at their face especially when they laid their head down on the table.

“So who’s that?” Jerome asked turning to the rest of the group.

“That’s Ramirez,” Sionis said simply.

“What’s his story?”

“Nobody knows why she’s in here,” Greenwood said, “everyone’s too scared of her.”

“Why?” Jerome asked, his interest suddenly peaked.

“Cause she’s killed or at least severely beaten a few guards and inmates,” Dobkins said in his jittery way.

“Huh, I don’t buy it,” Jerome said confidently, “she seems harmless to me.”

The table erupted with laughter as Jerome’s words hung in the air.

“I bet you can’t even last five minutes sitting over there,” Sionis said.

Jerome’s pale face quickly became red as the others continued to laugh at him.

“You’re on, I bet that I can even get this Ramirez to talk,” Jerome said.

“Deal,” Sionis said as he reached a hand out for Jerome to shake.

Jerome shook Sionis’s hand, got up from the table and strided towards Ramirez with his hands in his pockets as he whistled a tune.

“Hi gorgeous, I’m Jerome,” he said as he plopped into the seat across from Ramirez.

Ramirez made no noise or movements, her head still resting on the table.

“Not much of a talker huh? Well don’t worry I’ll do the talking for then.”

Jerome rattled on talking about anything and cracking jokes in an attempt to get a reaction from Ramirez.  The closest thing Jerome got was a low growl that emanated from deep in her throat. Finally, Ramirez lifted her head slowly and looked at Jerome.

Jerome, who had been laughing at his own joke, suddenly fell silent as his jaw dropped.

“G-Gabi?” he said in shock as he registered the once beautiful face that was in front of him.

“Hey Jerome,” Gabi croaked out.

“Gabi, what the hell are you doing here?” Jerome whispered quickly.  “What happened?”

Jerome took in how gabi’s once lovely curls had become matted, dark circles rested beneath her eyes which at one point had been bright with life but now they were dull.

“It doesn’t matter how I got here,” Gabi rasped, “why are you here?”

“I finally killed the bitch,” Jerome replied snidely.

Gabi nodded slowly with approval.

“Good, she deserved it with all that she did to you,” Gabi said.

“How long have you been in here for?”

“Let’s see,” Gabi said as she closed her eyes, “I think since September.”

“September? Why haven’t I seen you before now?”

“I’ve been in solitary confinement for the last two and half weeks,” Gabi said her voice starting to slowly return to normal with use.  “I got put in my usual cell last night.”

Jerome suddenly remembered what he had seen last night.

“That was you?”

“Yeah I guess so.”

Gabi and Jerome continued to talk for awhile more about how Jerome had killed his mother.  After sometime Gabi told Jerome to go back and collect his winnings from Sionis.

“But I want to stay and talk to you,” Jerome said.

“No Sionis will already be suspicious about how long you’ve lasted over here with me.”

“Ok, can I talk to you more tomorrow?”

“Yes, that would be nice,” Gabi said with a weak smile.

Jerome nodded and got up to walk back to his group.  He walked confidently with his head held high with triumph as he sat down to a stunned Sionis, Greenwood, Aaron, and Dobkins.  Jerome collected his winnings from Sionis and fielded the barrage of questions that came from the others. For the rest of the day, Jerome couldn’t help but sneak glances at Gabi wondering what she had become.

* * *

 

The next day was very similar to the one before.  All the inmates were taken to the rec room before Gabi was brought in chained up.  However this time when Gabi went to her table, she kept her head up and was observing the room.  Jerome immediately jumped up and made his way over to her. He was greeted with a radiant smile from Gabi.

“Morning dollface,” Jerome said as he took a seat next to Gabi.

“Morning Jerome,” Gabi said, her voice still a little hoarse.

“Why are you sitting over here by yourself?”  
“Because I don’t know anyone else, plus they’re all scared of me anyways.”

“Well you’re not alone anymore Gabi, you’ve got me.”

“Technically you’re right.”  
“So why don’t you come sit with my group?”  
Gabi glanced over at Jerome’s usual table and found all of its occupants to be staring at her.  She looked back to Jerome and nodded her head.

“Awesome!! Let’s introduce you to everybody,” Jerome said excitedly as he grabbed Gabi’s hand.

Jerome dragged Gabi towards his table and “friends,” who were now trying to hide their absolute looks of terror.  Jerome and Gabi reached the table quickly.

“Boys I would like to introduce you to my dear friend Gabi Ramirez,” Jerome said in quite a showman way.  “She will be joining us for the remainder of our stay here in this looney bin.”

Jerome popped himself on to the side of the bench that Greenwood and Dobkins were occupying.  Gabi sat down on the edge of the bench next to Jerome. Greenwood and Dobkins moved as far away from the pair as they could.

As the day moved on the rest of the guys eventually got used to Gabi’s presence.

“So what landed you in here, Ramirez?” Sionis asked eventually.

Gabi looked up at him briefly before she answered.

“I got revenge,” she said simply.

Gabi felt the eyes of every single man at the table on her, but she remained silent.

“Come on Gabi there’s got to be more to the story than that,” Jerome said.

“No not really.”

Gabi’s tone shut down anymore questions that could have possibly come her way.

* * *

 

It had been awhile since Gabi had joined Jerome and his group in Arkham.

“I killed a guy,” Gabi said out of the blue.

Everyone’s head at the table snapped towards her.

“What?” said Jerome.

“I killed a guy and that’s how I ended up here,” Gabi said.

Gabi began to tell the story of the crime she committed that landed her in Arkham.

* * *

 

It had been August, the start of Gabi’s senior year of high school.  She was sitting at the kitchen table, going over some papers for school when she heard a frantic banging on the front door.  Gabi got up and went to the door to see who it was. When she opened the door she found her best friend, Ariana, standing there soaking wet from the unusual rainstorm that had passed through.  Ariana was crying her eyes out and nearly collapsed into Gabi’s arms.

“Ariana, what happened to you?” Gabi asked with concern after she had gotten Ariana inside and noticed the deep bruises that covered her.

“He-he beat me up and and raped me,” Ariana said hysterically.

“Who did this to you?”

“Kyle.”

“Kyle as in your boyfriend Kyle?”  
“Yes,” Ariana said sniffling.

“We’ve got to get you to a hospital.”

Gabi gathered a few things then tried to help Ariana to the car but Ariana was too weak and going into shock, so Gabi opted to carry her to the car.  Gabi drove as quickly as she could to Gotham General Hospital and rused Ariana inside. Gabi called for the nurses, who rushed to take Ariana to a hospital bed.  As Ariana was rushed away, one of the nurses asked Gabi what had happened. She repeated what Ariana had told her to the nurse.

Once Ariana was settled into a bed, Gabi was allowed to sit with her.  Gabi couldn’t help but stare at Ariana’s swollen face and feel the anger boiling up inside her.  When the curtain to Ariana’s bed was pulled back, Gabi jumped to her feet only to see that it was a police officer.  She relaxed and sat down in her seat as the officer introduced himself as Detective Alvarez. Gabi listened intently as Detective Alvarez questioned Ariana about what had happened.

Ariana’s boyfriend, Kyle Pearson, had wanted to have sex with her but Ariana had refused him.  Kyle had gotten so angry that he had beaten Ariana to a pulp and taken what he wanted. When Gabi heard this her rage became nearly uncontrollable.  Gabi quelled her anger as much as she could until Ariana’s parents arrived at the hospital. After that Gabi left and returned home where she took her Bowie knife and a silenced gun from her father’s gun safe.

The next thing Gabi knew she was standing in an alleyway behind a man she recognized as Kyle Pearson.

“Kyle Pearson?” Gabi called out.

“Yeah, whatcha’ want?” Kyle replied as he turned around.

“Why did you do it?” Gabi asked as she walked towards him.

“Do what? I’ve done a lot of things today,” he said with a smirk.

“Why did you beat and rape my best friend?” Gabi said, her anger audible in her voice.

“Who?”

“Your girlfriend, Ariana.”  
“Oh that bitch, she was moving too slow for me,” Kyle said nonchalantly.

Gabi’s rage erupted within her as she pulled the gun from her waistband and shot Kyle once in each of his knees.  Kyle was so stunned that he couldn’t even scream in pain. Gabi walked towards him where he was collapsed on his knees, careful to avoid any of his blood.  Gabi walked behind Kyle and pulled out her knife.

“This is for Ariana,” Gabi said as she stabbed Kyle in the heart and twisted her knife.

The way that Gabi stabbed Kyle meant that he would have had a painful death as his chest filled with blood.  However Gabi felt that any second longer that Kyle lived on this earth was far too long so she grabbed his head just right and quickly snapped his neck.  Kyle’s body fell to the ground once Gabi released his head. She cleaned her knife off on Kyle’s clothes and walked away into the night and headed home.

* * *

 

“And that’s how I killed him,” Gabi said.

Gabi went on to explain that Kyle Pearson had been the son of a very influential man to Gotham High and that he wouldn’t have been convicted for the crimes that he had committed.  Thus justice would never have been properly served.

“I probably would have gotten away with killing Kyle, but for whatever reason I turned myself in when Detectives Bullock and Gordon showed up in my classroom that Monday morning to announce that Kyle was dead.”

Everyone at the table was quiet as Gabi’s story settled over them.

“But how did you end up in here?” Jerome asked.  “It doesn’t sound like you were crazy.”

“Well really the only reason that I was placed here in Arkham was because my parents were able to get a really good lawyer, who convinced the jury that I had become so enraged that I mentally wasn’t sound when I murdered Kyle.”

That night as Gabi was lying on her cot she heard a whispering coming from the grate that connected her cell to Jerome’s.

“Gabi come here.”

Gabi went over to the grate and saw Jerome there on the other side.

“Hey, what’s the matter?” Gabi asked as she laid down on her stomach in front of the grate.

“What happened to you?”

“What do you mean?”  
“I mean, what changed in you?  I know and can understand you killing that guy, but what about the others here at Arkham?  That’s not the Gabi that I know.”  
“It’s funny, what happens when you stick a sane person in with a bunch of crazies, you end up losing yourself to the insanity that surrounds you.”

“You know it only takes one bad day to turn anyone evil,” Jerome said.

Gabi was quiet for a moment.

“You’re right Jerome, it truly does only take one bad day to turn someone evil.”

“Do you regret doing it?”

“Not at all and if I had a choice to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing because now I’m here with you.”

Jerome felt his cheeks light up in a blush at Gabi’s words and was happy for the gloom that hid it.

“Hehe yeah I guess it is a good thing that we have each other now,” Jerome said tentatively.

“It definitely is Jerome, I don’t know how crazy I would have gone if it weren’t for you.”

_ Tell her how you feel!! _ , Jerome’s thoughts screamed at him, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Gabi went back to her cot and left Jerome lying there silently cursing himself.

The days passed by like usual, the only interesting thing to happen was a new inmate named Barbara arrived.  At first, Gabi didn’t like her at all due to all the attention she received from the guys, but Gabi eventually got over it by the time Barbara joined their group.  The days continued to be mundane.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The usual routine for Jerome and Gabi in Arkham all changes when the Galavans break them out. Takes place during the first 3 episodes of Season 2 of Gotham.

_ Ugh my head, _ Gabi thought as she came to.  She opened her eyes just enough to let them start adjusting to the bright light.

As Gabi’s eyes adjusted to the light, she became aware of others waking up next to her.  Gabi also noticed that she was strapped to a trolley. Looking around her, Gabi took in the her surroundings.  The room was large and lavished with a fairly high roof. Immediately to her right was Jerome and that’s all she cared about.  Gabi thought back to the last thing she remembered before being knocked out by something.

* * *

It had been a typical day, well as typical as one could get in an insane asylum.  Gabi and Jerome had been chattering away when a new inmate was brought in. The guy was short, overweight, and had the strangest haircut that Gabi had ever seen.  The new guy shouted his name but Gabi didn’t care to remember it since it was something only a weirdo would think of.

“Now that’s an insane person,” Jerome said as the inmate continued rambling on.

“Yup,” Gabi said dryly.

Gabi and Jerome went back to talking and the others, who were just as disinterested, did the same.

Jerome was in the middle of telling a story when Gabi clued into a difference in the rec room.  The new inmate had stopped shouting. Gabi glanced over to where he had been standing on a table and saw him on his back.

_ Eh, whatever _ , Gabi thought and went back to listening to Jerome.

“So Roy, the clown, had been bangin’ the lion tamer’s sister and when Randle found out, he cut off Roy’s...what the hell?”

“What?” Gabi asked as she followed Jerome’s gaze.

Jerome was looking at the table where the new inmate lay.  A blue gas was leaking from his mouth. Everyone stared at the inmate as more and more gas poured out of his mouth.  Gabi covered her nose with her shirt as the gas started to fill the room. She started to feel dizzy and battled to stay conscious as the others around her collapsed.

* * *

That’s the last thing Gabi remembered before waking up in the fancy room.  As Gabi gained her wits, the doors at the far end of the room swung open and a tall, slender man strode in.  He was dressed in a well tailored suit and made his way to the far end of the line. A woman dressed in a tight leather or latex outfit walked in behind him and sat on the edge of a desk.  The man clapped his hands together causing the others to startle awake.

“It’s good to see that everyone is awake,” the man started, “my name is Theo Galavan and I, along with my sister Tabitha, am the one who broke you out of Arkham, you are all brilliant outlaws and I hope you’ll join me in reshaping this city.”

Gabi’s head was still pounding at this Theo Galavan continued to talk.  At some point Galavan and Sionis got into an argument over Barbara, which Gabi scoffed at.  The argument led to Sionis being untied from his trolley and started to walk away when he uttered what would be his downfall.

“Barbara is coming with me.”

“Oh she doesn’t want to go where you’re going,” Galavan stated.

A whip suddenly streaked through the air and wrapped itself around Sionis’ neck.  The other end was held by the woman, Tabitha. She yanked it causing Sionis to fall onto his back, she quickly got on top of him and pulled out a knife.  Tabitha stabbed Sionis a few times in the chest causing blood to splatter on her face. This made everyone laugh, especially Jerome who got the most enjoyment out of it.

Sionis’ body was removed and disposed of while Gabi and the others were untied.

“It looks like we are down to six then,” Galavan said, “unfortunately we only have so many rooms here in the penthouse, so two of you will have to share, I’ll let you figure that out among yourselves.”

Gabi knew that nothing good would come from her bunking with any of the others except Jerome, so she jumped at her only opportunity. 

“No need for there to be any discussion about it, Jerome and I can share,” Gabi said resting her arm on Jerome’s shoulder.

Galavan raised an eyebrow as he looked between the two of them.

“Very well, my sister Tabitha will show you to your rooms.”

The tall woman who had killed Sionis, led the group of outlaws to each of their rooms, the last of which was the one to be shared by Gabi and Jerome. The room was fairly spacious with a large king size bed in the center.  Jerome immediately jumped on to the bed and splayed himself out on his back.

“Ahhhh it feels like I’m on a cloud,” Jerome sighed.

Gabi was busy looking through the dresser drawers attempting to find something to wear.  She settled on a tank top and shorts, which in her opinion were too short for her.

“I don’t know about you but I’m going to take a shower to wash the asylum grime off.”

“I will, don’t worry,” Jerome said lazily waving his hand.

Gabi took her things into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.  She stepped into the shower and as she felt the hot water pelt her skin she thought about what the consequences could be for escaping Arkham even though they hadn’t planned it.  The worst thing that she came up with was that they would be put into maximum security cells and possibly never see each other again. There was also no real point in trying to escape from Gotham because they would be tracked down either by the cops or by the Galavans, who based off of the previous events of the day, weren’t afraid of spilling blood.

_ It’s probably best to just go along with whatever they want _ , Gabi thought as she scrubbed her scalp. 

She turned the water off and stepped out of the shower.  Gabi wrapped herself in a soft towel and started the process of drying her hair. 

Jerome was in the same spot when Gabi opened the bathroom door.  She quietly made her way to the bad and sat down next to Jerome. It seemed like he was sound asleep.  Gabi had an idea and collected all of her hair to the side closest to Jerome and let the water drip from the ends onto his forehead.  She stayed like that seeing how long it would take for Jerome to wake up. For the next few minutes Gabi watched as Jerome’s forehead wrinkled each time the water dripped on him.

After five minutes Jerome was still asleep so Gabi decided to squeeze out the remaining water in her hair onto his face.

“What the?” Jerome said drowsily as he wiped his face.

“Nice to see you finally awake sleeping beauty,” Gabi chuckled.

“Ugh five more minutes.”

“Come on get up and take a shower, you’ll feel even better,” Gabi said giving Jerome a gentle shove.

“Fine,” Jerome said as he sat up.

He gathered some clothes and made his way to the bathroom.  Gabi laid back onto the bed and let her mind wander. She wondered how her family was doing and was curious to know what they thought about hearing that she had escaped from Arkham.

_ Should I contact them?  No, they wouldn’t want anything to do with me since I’m a murderer and all. _

As Gabi laid there she heard the bathroom door open.  Jerome walked over and returned to his spot next to Gabi.

* * *

The next day, Gabi found herself on the rooftop of the Gotham Gazette.  The group had kidnapped seven people and bound them with rope. Jerome had come up with the idea of spelling out the group’s new name, MANIAX!, with people.  However, Gabi had pointed out that it would take too many people and too much time to literally spell out the name in people so why not just spray paint the letters on to individuals. Jerome had liked the idea.

Gabi was barely listening as Jerome chattered away to the others and the hostages.  She was staring out over the city trying to blockout the screams as each person was flung from the rooftop.

“Now that’s a headline don’t cha think Gabi,” Jerome said clapping her on the shoulder.

Gabi looked down at the bodies lying in the street as people rushed to look.  
“Yeah it certainly is Jerome,” Gabi said softly.

Jerome looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face.

“You ok?” he asked

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Gabi said as she turned and walked away from the edge of the building.

When they were back at the penthouse, Theo called the group together to discuss their next plan.

“For the next attack it’s your choice between setting a school bus or a senior center on fire,” Theo said to the group gathered around him.

“I say the school bus,” Jerome said.

The others nodded in agreement.

“Plus,” Jerome added, “we have our own insider information.”

“Really now?” Theo questioned.

“Yup.”

“And how by chance do you have this information?”

“Gabi here used to go to Gotham High, so she should know the ins and outs of it,” Jerome said proudly wrapping his arm around Gabi’s shoulders.

Theo turned to look at Gabi.

“Well?”  
“Come on you can do it,” Jerome whispered in her ear.

Gabi sighed.

“It’s still football season and from what I remember the cheerleaders travel on a separate bus from the team when they go to games.”

“Go on,” Theo prompted.

She went on to tell them all the info she knew and from there Theo formed a plan.

After the meeting was over everyone returned to their rooms.  As soon as Jerome closed the door behind them he rushed to hug Gabi.

“You did great!!” he exclaimed as he embraced her from behind.

“What are you talking about?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“Oh that,” Gabi said flatly.

Jerome’s smile began to fade as he registered the tone in her voice.

“Hey are you ok?” he asked as he let go of her.

“Like I said before I’m fine,” Gabi replied as she moved away from him.

“Seriously? Cause you don’t seem like it.”

Gabi stopped and clenched her jaw for a second before rounding on Jerome.

“Of course I’m not ok,” she yelled.  “We’re killing innocent people Jerome!!”  
Jerome flinched away from her as she yelled.

“Innocent people? There are no innocent people in Gotham!” Jerome countered.

“Yes there are.”

“Like who?” Jerome said arrogantly.

“Like my family,” Gabi said, “the same family who took you in when you needed to escape from Lila.”

Jerome was stunned for a moment.  As he tried to form words Gabi spoke.

“You know I’m right Jerome,” she said gently.  “Just because life dealt you a bad hand doesn’t mean you have to take it out on the world.”

Jerome looked down at the floor and Gabi saw the same shy boy she had taken in from the circus.  She went over and hugged him.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you,” she said.

* * *

After a few days of planning, the day came for the Maniax to go after the school bus.  Gabi was squished into the cab of a tanker truck full of gasoline along with Jerome, Aaron, and Greenwood.  Thankfully she was between Aaron and Jerome so that she wouldn’t have to touch Greenwood the cannibal. Jerome was cracking jokes like usual as they waited for the bus full of cheerleaders to go by.  In the distance Gabi could hear the rumble of a large vehicle making its way towards them. Gabi looked up and saw that it was the school bus.

“That’s it,” Gabi said pointing at the bus.

“Then let’s go,” Jerome said as Greenwood started the tanker truck.

Greenwood pulled the truck behind the bus and was able to get it separated from the other bus.  Once the bus full of cheerleaders was stopped, everyone got out of the cab of the truck. Jerome ever the showman, began terrifying the high schoolers by firing some shots into the air from the gun that Galavan had given him.

Next, he climbed into the bus and began to spray everyone with the gasoline.  Gabi followed him onto the bus to act as a backup in case one of the male cheerleaders got any hairbrained idea to be a hero and attack Jerome.  As Gabi walked down the aisle of the bus she recognized a few faces here and there. When Gabi got to about the middle of the bus she saw a face that made her stop in her tracks.  The blonde was crying hysterically in an annoying wail.

“Sophia shut the fuck up!!” Gabi yelled.

The silence that engulfed the bus even made Jerome uncomfortable as he turned to look at Gabi.

“H-how do you know...my name?” Sophia stammered.

“Oh you don’t even remember me do you?” Gabi said in a condescending voice.  “I’m Gabi Ramirez the girl you caused to be an outcast.”

“W-what?”

“You told everyone that I was a freak,” Gabi said as she pulled out a knife.  Sophia’s eyes widened as Gabi brought the knife up in front of Sophia’s face. “You were the golden girl who could do no wrong and spread lies about me.”

Gabi took the edge of the knife and sliced a line into Sophia’s face deep enough to leave a scar, if she survived.  When she was done, Gabi looked at Jerome and said, “Let’s light it up.”

Jerome nodded and began to make his way back to the front of the bus.  Once they exited the bus, Jerome took out a lighter and tried to light the gasoline, however the lighter wouldn’t work.

“Well that’s embarrassing,” Jerome said, “anyone got a light?”

Gabi produced another lighter from her pocket and handed it to Jerome.  Just as he was about to light the gasoline, the sound of police sirens came closer.

“Hurry up Jerome.”

Gabi’s eyes scanned the alleys searching for any police vehicles.  She spotted two cars stop in the alley in front of them. Four officers got out of the cars and trained their guns on Gabi and the others.

“GCPD!! Put your hands up!!” one of the men yelled.  He was wearing a suit and had neat sandy blonde hair.

Gabi aimed her gun at the officers as Jerome turned to face them.

“That’s not likely to happen!” Jerome yelled back, raising his own weapon towards the officers.

Jerome started to fire his gun at the police causing them to take cover behind their vehicles.  Gabi noted that Jerome was a surprisingly good shot despite his antics.

Gabi fired her gun in the general direction of the patrol cars, making sure not to hit anyone.

The gun fire from the officers stopped as two of them were taken out by Jerome.  This gave Gabi and the others a chance to make their escape. As Greenwood started the truck, Jerome tossed the lighter to Dobkins.  Gabi and Jerome jumped onto the back of the truck. Jerome howled with laughter as Greenwood quickly maneuvered the truck away from the scene, leaving Dobkins to finish the job.

Gabi’s hair whipped in the wind created by the truck as it sped along the Gotham streets.  They eventually stopped at the rendezvous point, where they destroyed the truck and switched to another vehicle to make their way back to the penthouse.

When they were safely inside of the penthouse, Galavan had them gather to discuss how the mission went.

“It would have gone perfectly if it weren’t for the cops showing up,” Jerome said.

“Hmm that is a shame,” Galavan mused, “however that works in our favor.”

“How so?” asked Jerome.

“Because it puts you on the radar of the police and shows that you’re a real threat to the city.”

Jerome thought for a moment.

“Yeah I guess you’re right about that.”

“Now since it’s been a tiring day, I suggest that you all get some rest,” said Galavan.

“Nah we don’t need any rest, hell I could go blow up the senior center right now,” Jerome said confidently.

“Jerome, I think you should go rest,” Gabi said quietly.

“Why? I feel great.”

“It’ll catch up to you and you don’t want to be half asleep when we go to plan our next move.”

“I do believe that Gabi is right Jerome, we will have a lot of planning to do tomorrow,” said Galavan.

“Ok, I guess.”

Gabi and Jerome walked back to their room in silence.

As Gabi clicked the door shut behind them, she felt Jerome’s eyes on her.

“You ok?”

“Yeah I’m fine,” Gabi said as she walked past Jerome.

“You sure?” Jerome said as he caught her upper arm.

“Yeah I’m fine,” Gabi said as she looked him in the eye.

“Really? Cause today I saw a side of you I’ve never seen before.”

Gabi sighed.

“It’s just, seeing Sophia again brought up a lot of memories and emotions that I thought I had buried.”

“You looked just about ready to kill her.”

Gabi was quiet for a moment.

“I was.”

“What made you not do it?”

“All the other ways of killing her seemed too quick, so I might as well scare the shit out of her before she burned to death.”

“Huh, you’ve got an even more demented mind then I gave you credit for.”

“Yeah, unfortunately I’ve always been this way.”

“You’ve just gotta embrace it Gabi,” Jerome said enthusiastically.

“Embrace it? Why would I want to embrace it?”

“Because that demented mind,” Jerome said tapping Gabi’s forehead, “is going to help me take over Gotham and free all the other cogs stuck in the machine.”

“Ok Jerome now you just sound ridiculous.”

“Do I though? If everyone in this god forsaken city was free to let their demented minds run wild, everything would be in perfect chaos.”

Gabi stared at Jerome with growing concern.

That night Gabi had a tough time falling asleep worrying about who the man she loved was becoming.

* * *

The next morning Gabi woke up early to workout in an attempt to shake off the bad feeling from the previous night.  As she stretched, Gabi thought she heard a rustling coming from the bed but she maintained focus on her body. Gabi could feel eyes on her as she moved from one position to another.

“You getting a good view?” Gabi asked dryly.

A chuckle came from the bed.

“I certainly am,” Jerome said.

“Good, cause show’s over,” Gabi said standing up and turning to face Jerome.

“Aww,” Jerome whined.

“Oh quit,” Gabi said with a smile.

“I can’t help it.”

“Suuure you can’t, come on let’s get breakfast.”

“Alright,” Jerome said with a groan as he got out of bed.

A few minutes later Gabi and Jerome entered the kitchen/dining area of the penthouse.  Greenwood, Aarron, Barbara, Tabitha, and Theo were already there.

“Looks like the young couple finally decided to join us,” Barbara chirped when she glanced up from her magazine.

“Yeah yeah yeah, at least I’m not banging both of the Galavans at once,” retorted Gabi.

Barbara’s jaw dropped slightly before she clenched her jaw and returned to her magazine.

Gabi took her seat next to Jerome, who had put on a red robe over his pajamas.

“I would like to congratulate you on a successful mission--” Theo said.

“Ha I told you we could do it,” Jerome interrupted.

“-- however the plan failed due to the meddling of the police detective James Gordon.”

Jerome’s face fell when he processed what Theo had said.

“What do you mean it failed?”

“James Gordon managed to drive the bus away before it was able to be engulfed in flames.”

“What about Dobkins? Wasn’t he able to light it?” Gabi piped up.

“He was able to light the gasoline but unfortunately he was killed by gunfire.”

“I’m not surprised, he was useless anyway,” Jerome said.

Gabi glanced at Jerome before she spoke.

“So what now?”

“I say we plan our next move.”

Everyone turned to look at Greenwood.

“Uhuh, who died and made you king?” Jerome said dryly.

“Well seeing as I’m the one who’s killed the most people, I say that makes me the boss,” Greenwood said with a smug look.

Gabi looked at Jerome, who now had a very serious look plastered to his face.

“I don’t think so,” Jerome almost growled.

“Oh and what are you going to do? Chop me up like your mommy?” Greenwood taunted.

“Everyone has gotta start somewhere,” Jerome said standing up.

“Please, I started off by killing and eating a woman,” Greenwood sneered as he got in Jerome’s face.

“Yeah and you did the same thing how many times?”

“Sixteen.”

“I don’t care, all I know is that you’re just a crazy old cannibal, when is that shtick going to get old?” Jerome said getting more intense.

“It seems we have a conflict here,” Theo interjected as he stepped between the two men.

Theo pulled out a revolver and emptied the six chambers.

“You two know this game, right?” Theo asked as he placed one bullet in a chamber before giving it a spin.

“Oh I love it,” Jerome said very convincingly.

“Who wants to be the boss?” Theo asked as he held the gun up between Jerome and Greenwood.

Greenwood took the gun and placed it to his head for a second before pulling the trigger.  A definitive click sounded as Greenwood’s body tensed. He shoved the gun towards Jerome with a sick grin.

“Hey Greenwood, what’s the secret to good comedy?” Jerome asked as he placed the gun to his temple.

\--click--

“Timing.”

Jerome reset the chamber and placed the gun to his cheek.

“And what’s courage?”

\--click--

“Grace under pressure.”

He reset the gun again quickly and placed it under his chin.

“Who’s the boss?”

\--click--

“I’m the boss,” Jerome said before releasing a deep, dark laugh.

“I believe you are, Jerome,” Theo said taking the gun away from him.

Gabi released a shaky breath she hadn’t even realized she had been holding as Jerome sat down again.

“Now that the morning’s entertainment is over, we should start planning our next course of action,” Theo said.

* * *

“Alright, everyone know their positions?” Jerome asked

The others nodded silently.  Gabi, Jerome, and Greenwood were dressed as Gotham City police officers while Aarron and Barbara were dressed in normal clothes.

The three waited in an alleyway as Barbara sauntered into the GCPD headquarters.  They waited for a few moments before she reappeared with Jim Gordon trailing after her.  Jerome and Greenwood headed into the station first with Gabi following them. She stuck by the door as the two men made their way further into the lion's’ den towards the commissioner’s office.  Gabi watched as Jerome closed the door behind him with Greenwood standing outside.

Jerome entered the commissioner’s office making sure to lock the door behind him.

“Yes?” Commissioner Essen asked as she looked up from her paperwork.

Jerome kept his head tilted down just enough so that the police hat blocked her view of his face.

“Yo commish, heard you were looking for us,” Jerome said as he looked up to reveal his face.

In that moment, Gabi threw an explosive device into the middle of the police station and Greenwood started to fire his semi-automatic weapon.  The police station was in chaos as officers were struck by gunfire while others scrambled to hide. Within a few minutes the room was quiet with dead or dying cops.

Jerome laughed as he duct taped Essen to a chair.

“Hell of a first week you’re having, Commissioner, I wish I could tell you that things were gonna get better for you, but they’re not.”

Jerome started to whistle as he rolled Essen out onto the landing in front of her office.

“Greenwood, bring that up here,” Jerome commanded as he pointed at a video camera.

Greenwood did as he was told and started to set the camera up.

“Get a better angle of the room.”

“Why are you doing this?” Commissioner Essen hissed.

“To rule the world,” Jerome said dryly, “blah blah blah, but we’ll settle for some dead cops and some P.R.”

Jerome chuckled.

“Kidding.”

“Yeah, whatever, I get it, you’re just crazy,” Essen said.

“Crazy? Look at me, you can see I’m not crazy,” Jerome stated.

“Very soon, little man, you will be dead, and the world will go on without you,” Essen said strongly, “no one will even remember your name.”

“Mm, no, that is where you’re wrong, old lady, we will leave a mark on this city, we will spread across it like a virus, do you know why?”

“There’s nothing more contagious than laughter,” Greenwood chirped.

An annoyed look crossed Jerome’s face as he pulled out a gun and shot Greenwood in the chest.

“My line.”

Greenwood’s body dropped to the floor still holding the video camera.

“Now where were we? Ah right, there’s nothing more contagious than laughter.”

Essen suddenly lurched forward and spit in Jerome’s face.

“Hahaha, that was strangely pleasant, do it again.”

This time the woman headbutted him in the nose making Jerome start to bleed.

“Oh! That’s going to leave a mark,” Jerome said loudly as he leaned back and laughed.

“You got me, my turn.”

Jerome aimed his gun at Essen and shot her in the chest as well.

“Well, now that that’s done, it’s time to leave a little message for the citizens of Gotham.”

Jerome picked up the camera from Greenwood’s body and pressed record.

“Hello, Gotham City! We’re the Maniax, and I’m Jerome, the shot caller of our little gang, we’re here to spread the message of wisdom and hope.”

One of the officers moaned, interrupting Jerome’s speech.  Jerome stopped and shot the man before continuing.

“Some people have no manners, anyway you’re all prisoners, what you call sanity, it’s just a prison in your minds that stop you from seeing that you’re just tiny cogs in a giant absurd machine, wake up!! Why be a cog? Be free like us.”

Jerome started to laugh as he said his last few words.

“Just remember, smile.”

Gabi, who had been guarding the door, started to hear sirens approach.

“Jerome, time to go!!”

Jerome glanced over his shoulder at her and heard the sirens as well.  He turned back to the camera.

“But don’t worry, we’ll be back very soon, hang onto your hats, folks, cause you ain’t seen nothing yet!”

Jerome cackled as he delivered his final line and stopped recording.

“Alright, Gabi, we’re done here,” he shouted.

Gabi left her spot at the door and rushed to Jerome.

“Come on, let’s go out the back,” she said as she reached Jerome.

“After you, my lady,” Jerome said jokingly as he bowed.

They rushed out the back of the police department and to a car they had stashed in an alleyway.

* * *

Gabi and Jerome walked into the penthouse and were greeted by the sight of Theo, Tabitha, and Barbara watching TV.

“How’d we do?” Jerome asked.

“You did amazing, Jerome, the people are running scared,” Theo said.

“Perfect! Just like we wanted them to, right, Gabi?”

“Yeah, just like you wanted, Jerome,” Gabi said quietly.

Gabi turned and walked to the room she shared with Jerome.  She changed clothes and sat on the bed trying to get a grip on what she was feeling and thinking.

By the time Jerome walked in, Gabi had decided what she was going to do.

“Jerome, can I talk to you?”

“Yeah, what’s the matter?” Jerome asked sincerely as he sat down next to Gabi.

Gabi took a deep breath before she spoke.

“Jerome, I feel like I’m losing you.”

“What do you mean?” Jerome asked with a puzzled look on his face.

Gabi took Jerome’s hand in both of her’s.

“Jerome, you’re becoming someone I don’t recognize at all, what happened to the guy I have feelings for, the guy who would do anything to help someone else?”

Jerome was quiet as he stared at Gabi.

“Y-you have feelings for me?” he asked innocently.

“Yes, Jerome, I have deep feelings for you and have ever since that last night we had together when we were free and watching the stars, I want that guy back.”

“He’s not in there any longer but I have feelings for you, too, Gabi.”

Gabi looked Jerome in the eye and saw that it was true.

“You do?”

“Of course I do, you’re beyond incredible and...and I love you.”

Gabi didn’t have a moment to think before her body was already acting.  She placed her left hand on the back of Jerome’s neck and pulled him towards her.  Her eyes were closed when their lips met. Jerome’s lips were soft and just moist enough to make the kiss comfortable.  Gabi pulled away from Jerome and opened her eyes to see that Jerome’s were still closed.

When he opened them, Jerome’s eyes were full of love for the girl in front of him.  His heart was pounding as he pulled Gabi to him and kissed her long and hard.

“Jerome,” Gabi murmured against Jerome’s lips when their lips parted for a moment, her heart pounding. She was very aware of how close Jerome was to her in this moment, how hot and sensitive her skin was. Jerome hadn’t changed out of his police officer’s uniform, but he did now, fingers unbuttoning his top before he cast it aside. Gabi’s eyes glanced over his pale, muscular chest for a moment, taking it in, before her hands slid down over his chest as their lips met once more. Gabi could feel hot wetness between her legs, her pulse pounding there too. She loved this man, and she wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anything before.

“I mean it, Gabi,” said Jerome between kisses. “I love you.”

And, right now, Gabi felt loved as Jerome continued to kiss her, his hands reaching up beneath her shirt. Gabi pulled away for a moment, raising her arms above her head so that Jerome could pull her shirt off, leaving it on the ground with his. 

“You’re so beautiful, Gabi,” said Jerome, his eyes roving over her own bare, muscular body. While he looked at her, Gabi’s fingers fumbled with the clasp of her bra. She pulled the straps down before pulling it off entirely, Jerome’s wide, dark eyes drinking in the sight of her. His grin made Gabi blush, but it still didn’t prepare her for Jerome pushing her onto her back against the mattress, her head on the pillow that she’d slept on, and pressing close to her.

With how closely Jerome was pressed to her now and how he was moving his hips, Gabi could feel exactly how turned on he was. She moaned at the feeling of his cock pressing against her through their clothing. This was it, this was finally happening after so long apart, so long without him.

Jerome pulled away from kissing after a while, though, pulling off his pants followed by his underwear. Gabi followed suit with her jeans and drenched panties, though she tried not to stare too long or too hard at Jerome’s- well, his long, hard cock that she couldn’t wait for him to bury in her pussy. 

“You want this, right?” Jerome asked as he hovered over her. The blush stood out on his pale cheeks, his lips redder and swollen from the kissing. Gabi tried to stare at his face so that she wouldn’t stare at his cock instead.

“Yes,” said Gabi, nodding. Her long, curly hair almost tickled as it brushed against her shoulders thanks to how aroused she was. “Do you?”

“Obviously,” said Jerome with a chuckle, pointing to his cock. Gabi looked again, and this time, Jerome saw her looking and winked at her. “Like what you see?”

“Yes,” said Gabi, wondering if she should touch it. But before she could, Jerome kissed her again, leaning down over Gabi and moving his body closer to her’s. Now, his cock was pressed against her pussy, putting pressure on her clit, and as he moved his hips slightly, Gabi moaned into his mouth. She wrapped her arms around Jerome’s neck, arching her back up in the hopes that Jerome might slip in. But he only moaned and slipped his tongue into her mouth, his hands trailing down her body to rest on her parted knees. Gabi looked up at him, face flushed, chest heaving, and felt her body heat up even further as Jerome grinned down at her. She’d always found that smile sexy.

Jerome leaned back on his knees, still grinning at Gabi, positioned himself between her legs, and pushed in. Gabi gasped in shock, surprised at the feeling of it. She’d imagined this plenty of times, but the feeling of Jerome’s cock in her pussy was still a surprise to her. A very pleasant one, too.

“Is this-?” Jerome asked.

“Yes,” said Gabi, nodding. Jerome began thrusting into her and Gabi dug her fingernails into his back, moaning at the feeling. 

“I like this,” said Jerome, stopping when he was thrust in as deep as he could go.

“I do too,” said Gabi. She moved her hips, moaning again at the feeling of Jerome still inside of her. Thankfully, Jerome got the message, beginning to move his hips again. He dug his fingers into Gabi’s thighs, using them to anchor himself as he fucked her. Neither of them had ever done this before, but both still enjoyed it regardless, just the feeling of their bodies moving together, the way that Gabi arched her back and moaned louder and dug her fingernails in, the way that Jerome’s thrusts became a little harder as he found his rhythm, his fingers still digging into Gabi’s flesh.

Gabi came first, her pussy pulsing around Jerome’s cock as pleasure thrilled through her.

“Oh yeah,” Jerome moaned, pushing in deeper. Gabi moaned at the sensation. And soon, after a few more thrusts, Jerome reached his climax too, his cock pulsing inside her as he filled her with his seed.

“Oh, Jerome,” Gabi murmured as she looked up at him. Now, she was sure that Jerome loved her. He’d just proven it to her. And, looking up at him, she knew that the man she loved was still in there somewhere. He had to be.

* * *

The next week was a whirlwind of love making and planning for Jerome’s main event.

A few days before Jerome was to go on stage, he and Gabi were lying in bed together after having fucked for for the umpteenth time.  Gabi was resting on her side pressed up against Jerome with her head on his chest and a leg hooked over his body.

“Jerome?” Gabi said quietly.

“Hmmm.”

“I’m worried about your performance.”

“My performance?” Jerome repeated scrunching his eyebrows together, “you trying to say I don’t fuck you good enough?”

Jerome rolled over so that Gabi was underneath him.

“What? No, no, you do amazingly at that,” Gabi said with a chuckle.

“Then it must be my oral skills that are lacking,” Jerome said before he started to kiss his way down Gabi’s body.

“Jerome, stop, I don’t mean that, either,” Gabi said, sitting up.

“What do you mean, then?” Jerome asked as he sat back on his knees.

“I’m worried about the gala performance.”

“Why? Everything’s been planned out and should go perfectly.”

“But what if it doesn’t? What if something goes wrong or --”

“Gabi, you’re worrying yourself too much, everything will be fine and we’ll be the king and queen of Gotham,” Jerome said with a smile.

“I hope you’re right, Jerome.”

“You know I’m right, and you never did answer me about my oral abilities,” Jerome said with a devilish grin.

* * *

 

“Tonight’s the night, Gabi,” Jerome said as he fixed his bowtie.

“It certainly is,” Gabi replied as she looked over the blueprint of the building where the children’s hospital gala was to be held.

Galavan had put Gabi in charge of crowd control while Jerome and Barbara were on the main stage.  She still had a feeling of unease as everyone was put into their spots at the gala.

Gabi stuck to the shadows, making sure she wouldn’t be recognized by anyone while still having a clear view of the stage.  She watched as Jerome put on a magic show under the guise of The Great Rodolfo. The crowd was loving him, up until the point he killed the assistant deputy mayor with a knife to the back.  Once everyone in the audience realized it wasn’t part of the act, the panic set in as people tried to run for the doors, but were frozen in fear by the gunfire from the henchmen Galavan had put under Gabi.

“I want Bruce Wayne,” Jerome commanded after having knocked out Theo, who tried to play the hero.

Minutes passed with no sign of the boy billionaire.

“Fine, if you won’t come out willingly then I’ll force you out, bring me his butler!” 

One of the other henchmen closest to the butler shoved him towards the stage.

“Stop! I’m the one you want!”

The voice came from a young boy, no more than an early teen.  He walked towards Jerome with a surprising amount of confidence despite the situation.  Once he reached the stage, Jerome grabbed Bruce and held a knife against his throat. The butler and Jim Gordon each had a gun pointed at Jerome.

“Drop the knife Jerome!” commanded Detective Gordon.

Neither one of the men had a clean shot of Jerome with Bruce being used as a human shield.

In the next moment, Jerome was suddenly on the ground.  Theo had regained consciousness and had stabbed Jerome in the neck.  In that instant, Gabi forgot everything else and rushed onto the stage.  The blade had pierced Jerome’s artery and his mouth was filling with blood.

“Nonono Jerome, stay with me! Please, I love you,” Gabi cried out.

It was the first time she had told Jerome that she loved him because she had been too scared to say it.

“You do?” Jerome gasped.

“Yes, of course I do, I love you to the stars and back.”

Gabi cradled Jerome’s head in her arms as he took his last breath.

“No!Jerome!” Gabi wailed as tears streamed down her face.

“Officers, arrest this criminal,” Theo said as he pointed at Gabi.

Gabi’s despair quickly flashed to anger at the sound of Theo’s voice.

“You bastard, you killed him!” Gabi roared as she lunged at Theo, but was restrained by police officers.

The rest was a blur to Gabi.  She remembered being dragged away from Jerome’s body and to the GCPD headquarters.  The detectives Harvey Bullock and Jim Gordon had tried to interrogate her but Gabi had simply said,” I’m criminally insane why would you believe a word I said.”

Seeing as they weren’t going to get any information out of her, the detectives sent Gabi back to Arkham Asylum.

It was about two months later that Gabi started to not feel like her normal self.  Mainly it was the nausea and throwing up in the morning that clued her into something being off.  When the doctor asked when the last time Gabi had had her period, she couldn’t remember. At first she thought that the stress of Jerome’s death had caused it to stop, but now that she was sitting there staring at the pregnancy test result, she couldn’t help but laugh as she placed a hand over her abdomen.

Jerome would live on through their child.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While dealing with her pregnancy and grieving for Jerome, Gabi makes a new friend in Arkham of all places. Takes place during Season 2 and 3 of Gotham.

It had been four months since Jerome’s death and Gabi was still working her way through the grieving process.  It was difficult for her especially now that she was isolated from everyone else.

Between her escape and pregnancy, Gabi was put into a special enclosure every day away from the others.  There wasn’t much to do besides sit and dwell or exercise and often times she chose to exercise to keep her mind off of the painful memories.

During one of these days, Gabi had tied a bed sheet onto the bars of her cage and was practicing aerial moves when she heard the lock on the cage door click.

“I know it isn’t time for my meds,” Gabi called over her shoulder.

“You can’t do this to me!!” screamed an unfamiliar voice from behind her.

Gabi looked over her shoulder and saw a slight man with black hair pressed up against the bars.  She maneuvered herself so that she was facing the man.

“Unfortunately, they can do that to you and they just did,” Gabi remarked.

The man whipped around and stared up at Gabi with his mouth agape.  She noticed that his nose was particularly hooked and beak like.

“Who are you?” the man asked in a slightly higher and raspy voice.

“The name’s Gabi, Gabi Ramirez,” Gabi said as she started to swing on the bed sheet, “What’s your name?”

“Gabi Ramirez,” the man whispered to himself, “You! You were one of those escaped maniacs!!”

Gabi sighed.

“Yeah I was,  but not by choice.”

“Well it looks like your little plan didn’t work,” the man said snidely.

“Yeah, well yours must have failed too for you to end up in here.”

“Actually my plan worked out just as it should.”

“Oh, well congratulations,” Gabi said sarcastically, “whatever did you do?”

“I killed Theo Galavan,” the man said triumphantly.

Gabi was quiet as his words sank in.

“You did what?” Gabi asked as she sat up straighter.

“I said, I killed Theo Galavan,” the man said slowly.

“My my my, now I must know the name of the man who took my revenge from me,” Gabi said as her feet hit the floor.

“Oswald Cobblepot.”

“Oswald Cobblepot,” Gabi repeated, “nice to meet you.”

Gabi stuck out her hand to Oswald.  He took her hand and gave it a firm shake.

“I have a feeling we’re going to get along just fine, Oswald,” Gabi said with a grin.

* * *

As time went by, the friendship between Gabi and Oswald grew just as quickly as her baby bump.  They found a commonality in both being outcasts from a young age, Oswald for his twisted foot and Gabi for her height.  Having Oswald around helped Gabi tremendously because she was able to have an actual conversation with him instead of talking to herself.

* * *

“So what’s going to happen to the baby?” Oswald asked one day.

Oswald was sitting on the one cot in the cage as he watched Gabi stretch.  She was now seven months pregnant and her stomach had grown significantly.

“I don’t know, honestly, obviously I can’t keep him in here with me cause they would never allow that,” Gabi said from the floor.

The thought had crossed her mind before and the only good possibility was far fetched.

“I have to give him his best chance possible and that means I have to try the improbable,” Gabi said eventually.

“What does that mean?” asked Oswald.

“I’m going to try contacting my mom.”

* * *

The phone rang and rang causing Gabi to wonder if anyone would answer.

It had taken some finagling for Gabi to be able to make this important phone call.  Ultimately the staff had decided that it would be best for her to make an attempt to find a home for her child.

Just as the phone was on its last ring someone answered.

“Hello?” asked a woman’s voice.

“Mom? It’s me, Gabi.”

The other end was silent.  Gabi’s heart began to sink.

“I don’t know what kind of joke this is but it’s not funny,” Fiona said sternly.

“No no no, mom, it really is me, Gabi, if you don’t believe me ask me something that only your child would know,” Gabi pleaded.

Fiona was silent again as she thought.

“Ok, who did you attack when we went to adopt a child?”

“It was Zak cause he tried to take my toy.”

“Oh my god it is you,” Fiona exclaimed, “what’s going on? Why haven’t you called before?”

“I’m sorry mom that I didn’t call before, I wasn’t allowed to, but mom I’ll explain later, I need you to do something for me.”

“What is it?”

“I need you to visit me here at Arkham because I need your help.”

“It isn’t for an…”

“No no, I’m not trying to escape, please I just need you to do this for me,” Gabi pleaded.

“Ok, I’ll do it,” Fiona said firmly.

“Thank you, mom.”

* * *

It was nearly a week later and Gabi had nearly lost hope of her mother coming to see her.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do if she doesn’t come,” Gabi said as she was lying down.

“I wouldn’t worry, if she’s anything like how my mother was, she’ll come,” said Oswald.

“What was your mother like?”

Oswald was quiet for a moment, a slight smile appearing on his face.

“She was an angel,” Oswald started, “she always lifted my spirits when the other kids would make fun of me for being different.”

“She sounds amazing and very kind.”

“She was.”

“You’re right, my mom will come soon.”

A few hours later, a guard came to the door and called Gabi over.

“Cuff up,” he commanded, “you have a visitor.”

Gabi did as she was told and was led to a visitation room.  She was seated in a chair and chained to the table. Gabi waited for what felt like hours but was probably only a few minutes.  Eventually, the door behind her opened.

Fiona walked in and took a seat across from her daughter.

“Hi mom.”

“Gabi, it’s good to see you,” Fiona said as she took Gabi’s hands in hers.

“It’s good to see you too, mom,” Gabi said smiling.

“Just to cut to the chase, what is it you need to talk to me about?” Fiona asked.

Gabi gulped.  She hadn’t expected her mom to jump right to the reason she was here.

“Well… I um, I don’t know how to say it in any other way than this,” Gabi said, “mom, I’m pregnant.”

The look on Fiona’s face went from disbelief to shock.  Gabi could feel Fiona’s grip start to loosen a bit.

“Mom, stay with me.”

“I… I don’t even know where to start, honey.”

“How about with the present,” Gabi said, “I’m almost due to have this baby.”

Fiona simply nodded.

“And I don’t want him going into the system cause who knows who he’ll end up with, so mom I’m asking you if you’ll take my son so that he has his best chance,” Gabi pleaded.

Fiona stared blankly at Gabi.

“You want your father and I to take your son?” Fiona repeated.

“Please mom, he’s your grandson, take him and raise him as your own.”

Fiona was quiet for a long time.

Fear began to grow in the pit of Gabi’s stomach.

Finally, Fiona spoke.

“Ok, I’ll do it,” Fiona said.

Gabi’s face lit up.

“-- on one condition.”

“What is it?”

“You will have no contact with him because he can’t know that his mother was a criminal, you understand?”

The light instantly drained from Gabi’s face as her mother’s words sunk in.

“Ok, if that’s what the price is for my son to have his best chance, then so be it,” Gabi said solemnly.

With that, Gabi and her mother shook hands, sealing the agreement. 

* * *

The next month and a half flew by for Gabi before the big day finally arrived.

Gabi was sitting on the bench in her and Oswald’s cage when she started to feel a pain in her abdomen similar to cramps.  At the same time she suddenly felt a wetness in her underwear. Just as she stood up to alert the nearest guard, a wave of pain brought her to her knees.

“Gabi?” Oswald asked at her collapse.

‘Get the guard, it’s time,” she gasped looking at Oswald.

Oswald sprang up and ran/waddled faster than Gabi had expected to the cage door.

“Guard!!! Guard!!! It’s coming!!!” Oswald shouted.

One of the guards came sauntering over and looked like he was about to make a smart ass comment when he noticed Gabi curled up on the floor.  The guard’s face drained of color as he stood there doing nothing.

“Don’t just stand there!! Call for help!!” Oswald screamed.

Gabi groaned as another contraction racked her body.

Oswald’s words must have gotten through to the guard finally as he shook his head then called on the radio for help.  A few minutes later, what seemed like a battalion of nurses and guards filed into the enclosure. Gabi was placed on a stretcher and as she was taken out, Oswald tried to follow.  Unfortunately, he was stopped by two guards.

“What are you doing?? I have to go with her!!”

“No way, Penguin, you stay here.”

With that, Oswald had to watch as his friend was taken away.

Gabi was taken to the infirmary where she was moved to a bed and was prepared to give birth.  Due to not being in an actual hospital, Gabi didn’t have the option of an epidural to take the pain away.  Gabi laboured for countless hours, having to endure the pain on her own.

After nearly half a day of pain, Gabi was able to give one final push that brought her child into the world.

“It’s a boy,” the on call doctor announced as the baby’s screams filled the room.

The baby boy was cleaned up, then placed on Gabi’s chest.  The baby’s screams ceased once he settled on Gabi’s skin.

“Hey little one, welcome to the world,” Gabi whispered as she looked at her son.

He was perfect.  From the button nose to the dark eyes.  Gabi smiled as she noticed the full head of red hair that he had.  Gabi had a few minutes with her son while her parents were notified that the baby had been born.  Seemingly just as quickly as Gabi was holding him, a nurse came in and ripped him from her arms.

“Wait!! Where are you taking him!?!” Gabi shouted as her son began to wail.

Gabi tried to get up but found that she had been chained to the bed.

“Please let me hold him for a little longer!!” she screamed as tears began to flow.

Her son continued to scream for her as the nurse rounded the corner and walked down the hall.  His screams faded as they got further away.

“Nooooo,” Gabi wailed.  “Not again.”

Gabi sobbed as the stitches that had been holding her heart together since Jerome’s death were suddenly ripped out, leaving her to bleed out.

For the next few days, Gabi stayed chained to her bed as she physically recovered from giving birth.  When she was well enough, Gabi was moved back to her regular cell. She found out that Oswald had been released from Arkham in that time.

Two weeks later, Gabi found herself standing outside of the gates to Arkham with only the clothes on her back and a certificate of sanity signed by Dr. Strange.


End file.
